


Please come again (Let me go home)

by bonesetblues, Lulubelle01, Yoru_Lun



Series: Won't you stay with me? [1]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Dimension Travel, Gen, Protective Kawahira, Responsible Adults being integrated, Scheming Nezu, Tsuna Deserves Better, Tsuna is So Done, that deserves a tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-10-22 19:30:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17668703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonesetblues/pseuds/bonesetblues, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lulubelle01/pseuds/Lulubelle01, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoru_Lun/pseuds/Yoru_Lun
Summary: Tsuna didn't ask for this.All he wanted was to Harmonise with his Guardians, he didn't ask to be thrown in a messed up parallel world where Heroes and Villains are apparently a thing and it was all because that world Kawahira fucked up so bad that Trinisette broke.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I had this well thought out idea for KHR X BNHA crossover but apparently my brain is more interested on this crack idea that came out nowhere and by the time I realised it, I already have 3k+ worth of it.
> 
> The crack idea was where Tsuna worked for Kawahira's multi dimension hopping shop and got entangled in other people's business because he can't help himself.

“Please come again!” Tsuna called out to the last of the customer. He didn’t linger long as he proceed to tidy up the shop in order to close it for the day.

It was a good thing the food stand was small since it was a lot of work to manage it on his own, especially when his supposed employer would rather slurp yet another bowl of ramen than lend him a hand.

Despite being an all-powerful being, Kawahira was useless as usual.

“Now that’s just rude Tsuna-kun.”

“It is not if you didn’t lift it off my mind, which by the way, is ruder.”

“You’re no fun little Sky.” Pouted the bespectacled man but Tsuna ignored him in favour of stacking the used bowls.

Business was good as usual, which in turn brought in many customers despite the stand being a small establishment. While many of their patrons had inquired when they would expand their little hole in the wall diner, Tsuna didn’t trust Kawahira around normal unsusceptible human to let him hire more employee despite how much it would help him manage things.

Him alone being sacrificed to keep the Earthling in line was more than enough.

He doesn’t want some innocent bystanders being dragged into whatever scheme the Mist had cooked up in his head.

“Your lack of faith in me is hurtful Tsuna-kun.”

“Well you did manage to fuck up so bad that Trinisette broke after all. So yeah, I don’t trust you with anything. Not even with a rock.” Snarked Tsuna.

Yeah _snark_ because Tsuna was beyond being fearful of this overpowered being. Reborn would have been proud of him if the Sun had been around to witness it.

But he was not here.

All because this world’s Kawahira had fucked up so bad that the universe decided they needed Tsuna for intervention. It dragged him kicking and screaming from his own world and dumped him into one where Heroes in colourful costumes paraded the street and _villains_ being an open thing known to public.

That was a year ago and Tsuna had lost count on how many time he nearly strangled Kawahira for it.

He was in the middle of **_something_** before he was dumped in this world.

Tsuna raised a hand to rub over his chest, feeling the phantom pain that still lingered there. The taste of true Harmonisation teased at his sense, poking at his subconscious but shying away whenever he sought it out.

He was in the middle of Courting his Elements for real when he was dragged here and the knots of Bond that he had meticulously built over the years were now frayed around the edges without his Elements there to sustain the other end.

While it was a good thing he hadn’t fully Harmonised with them before being dumped into this universe, it doesn’t mean it was less painful to have it hanging loose, rattling his ribcage whenever the melancholy got too much.

Even if it saved him from the agony of Discord, Tsuna couldn’t help but long for it. He already had a taste of how it would have been if he managed to Harmonise with his Guardians, a promise of _more_ that was torn from him before he could have it.

Such was his life after a certain Spartan baby dropkicked into his life with gun blazing.

His derailing train of thought was halted when the indigo flap of the shop was lifted to admit the hunched figure of a man.

“We’re alre-” The words died on his tongue when he turned to look at the newcomer and Tsuna couldn’t help but stare at the man in bewilderment.

While he had seen many different kind of people that has physically altered body due to being influenced by their Quirks, the man looked so emaciated that he was borderline skin and bone and the big ill-fitting clothes the man wore didn’t help in making the man look less like a walking skeleton.

He looked like he should be in bed, preferably in a hospital where doctors and nurses could check on him periodically.

Before Tsuna could stop himself, he already pulled out the closest stool and ushered the blonde to sit on it. The man looked like a soft breeze could knock him over and Tsuna was not willing to have someone pass out in his shop.

“Are you alright sir? Should I call an ambulance?” Tsuna fluttered around the blonde anxiously, ignoring Kawahira’s amused gaze because the Mist always did found amusement in Tsuna’s misery.

“Ah no worries young man. I am perfectly fine.” Assured the man and it would have been convincing if he didn’t immediately cough out blood right after it.

Tsuna gasped and immediately snatched the box of unused napkins to curb the blood. He so don’t want to clean blood off the wooden counter.

The man nodded his thanks for the offered napkins and continued to hack out worrying amount of blood. Tsuna was already pulling out his phone to call for an ambulance when the man’s surprisingly big hand stopped him.

“No need, young man. This is normal for me.”

The smile the man gave was feeble at best and the blood on his chin, along with sunken blue eyes made them look so much frailer than he already was. His previously quiet Intuition picked up on the bitterness in the man’s eyes but Tsuna choose to ignore it because he doesn’t even need it to know just how much the blonde loathed his current condition.

“Thank you for your concern and also the napkins, young man. I am sorry for causing you such distress this late at night.” The man hunched more in apology and Tsuna’s arms flailed to stop him.

“Oh no worry at all! It is alright, sir. I am just glad you’re fine.” His laugh was awkward but it managed to make the man smile, so Tsuna considered it as a win.

“Anyway, what would you have, sir? I assume you came in for a meal.” The change of subject could have been better if Kawahira’s increasing amusement was anything to go by but Tsuna choose to focus on the fact this man before him need food in him like yesterday.

The man flushed and it had Tsuna wondering how that was possible when the man had just hacked a worrying amount of blood.

“I did but I see now that you’re already closing.” His blue eyes looked around the small diner, skimming over the stacked plates on the counter and abandoned broom leaning against the wall.

“Nonsense! We can stay open for some more time, right, Kawahira-san?” The pleasantly sweet smile he sent the bespectacled man held underlying threat of bodily harm if Kawahira dared to disagree with him and the Earthling returned it with a shaky smile of his own.

“Of course Tsuna-kun, whatever you want.”

“See, the boss said it’s fine. So don’t worry at all!”

The blonde looked bemused at the interaction but his eyes were wary as it lingered on Kawahira, as if the man was caught off guard by the Mist’s presence. Knowing Kawahira, Tsuna didn’t doubt he had concealed himself before Tsuna threw attention toward him.

“Here’s the menu and we can accommodate it to your diet requirement if you want.”

Offering the menu to man, Tsuna’s Intuition buzzed once again, feeding him with titbits of information regarding the man. His condition reminded him too much of Chrome and Tsuna had rigorously learnt about his Mist’s diet plan so that he could make food that she could also enjoy despite the absence of certain vital organs.

If his Intuition were to be trusted (which he really did because that alien in his head was never wrong), the man was the same and Tsuna would be dammed if he didn’t see the man off with a full stomach tonight.

“Ah you don’t have to young man.” The man was flustered by his offer and Tsuna felt sad at how obviously unused the man was to this kind of special treatment.

“I want to.”

Tsuna smiled and didn’t regret it at all when he injected a small dose of Sky Flame to it because it got the blonde to relent and give into Tsuna’s whim. But he does tone it down when the man looked too punch drunk on the Sky’s Harmony. No need to drown him in it after all.

Yet as his Flame withdrew from the blonde, it brushed against something.

Something that was infinitely familiar that it took everything in him to stop the sealed ring that hung around his neck from revealing itself. His Intuition that have been docile came forward with vengeance, ringing loudly in his mind but too incomprehensible for him to grasp what it was trying to tell him.

A glance toward Kawahira gave him all the confirmation he needed and Tsuna internally cursed both Fate and the Mist.

Of course his life wouldn’t be so easy.

Schooling his expression to what he hope was a perfectly polite one, Tsuna tried to compose himself. He needed time to think over what he had stumbled upon but he still has a customer to serve and said customer looked like he very much need a good meal or two.

“Anyway, my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi but you can call me Tsuna for short. Nice to meet you…” Tsuna trailed off slightly, looking at the man furtively in askance of his name and it took the man some moment to come down from the high induced by Sky Flame.

“Yagi. Yagi Toshinori, young Sawada.” The man, Yagi-san, still looked dazed as he blinked back to clarity and Tsuna went back to his station behind the counter to start up the kitchen.

“Well Yagi-san, what would you like to have?”

“Surprise me, young man.” Yagi-san’s smile was crooked, as if bemused by how things lead up to this and Tsuna couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. He couldn’t deny that it looked like one of those scene that came straight out of some comedic series he often read before Reborn’s arrival.

“Alright then. Do you have any allergy that I should be aware of?”

“I’m lactose intolerant.”

“Roger that. What would you like to drink while waiting?”

“Tea, please.”

Tsuna reheated the kettle again to start with the tea and checked on the rice cooker to see there was plenty of rice left for him to make rice based recipes. Having cooked for Chrome based on her special diet plan, Tsuna at least knew what he should and shouldn’t use while cooking for Yagi-san.

 

* * *

 

 

Toshinori watched as the young brunette bustle around in the open kitchen, moving with deft grace born of hours spent in it and he couldn’t help but be enamoured by it. The skilful handling of the knife as Sawada prepared the ingredients was commendable and Yagi laughed lightly as the younger man put on a show when he noticed he was being watched.

What a delightful young man he was.

He didn’t know what had brought him to this quaint hole in the wall diner, a phantom tug at his subconscious that have him ducking under the front flap of the shop he never noticed before. It was a small establishment, with an open kitchen circumferenced by wooden counter where a dozen of stool was pushed under and some tables pushed against the left wall.

It was small but it had a homey feel to it, warm and welcoming as he stepped into it. It felt as if he had returned to home after a long time and the unseen tension that he didn’t realise he had been carrying with him fall away the longer he stayed there.

Toshinori was sure it has something to do with the young brunette that was currently serving him.

He couldn’t quite place a finger on why he felt so comfortable with Sawada but his own instinct didn’t warn him of anything nefarious, so he could afford to let some of his own guard down around him. It was rare as it was for him to be able to relax nowadays and he would welcome any opportunity for him to de-stress after the long day he had.

The flash of silver have him glancing toward the bespectacled man who sat at the corner table, whom according to Sawada was the owner of this shop. Toshinori readily admit the man unnerved him.

If Sawada was all warmth and welcoming presence, the man was _nothing_.

He literally doesn’t feel anything from him, not even a whiff of his presence and if Sawada hadn’t drawn his attention toward the silver haired man, Toshinori wouldn’t even realise he was there in the first place.

The man, Kawahira, looked so unassuming despite his silver hair but his lack of presence rankled at Toshinori. Thanks to One For All, Toshinori had always been attuned to the people around him but this man, he doesn’t even register to him despite the close proximity.

It was as if the man was obscured by something, an unseen force that hid him from the world.

He wondered if it was the man’s Quirk. It was both a wonderful yet terrifying one if it was.

Sipping on the glass of warm tea, Toshinori shifted his focus back to Sawada. Toshinori wondered what this young man’s Quirk was because that warmth he felt when Sawada smiled felt too unnatural to him. Sure he could chalk it off as the brunette’s welcoming personality but it shouldn’t have left him feeling buzzed as if he had some glass of good alcohol instead of being smiled at.

It was a sensation that he hadn’t felt for years now after the injury he was dealt with prevented him from consuming any form of alcohol. He wouldn’t even noticed it if the constant pain that wrecked his body hadn’t numbed away, allowing him to breath in for the first time in a long while without sharp pain shooting out from the injuries.

Toshinori briefly wondered if it was a Pain Nullifying Quirk. A perfect Quirk for a Rescue Hero but he wouldn’t question the young man’s choice of working in some drab diner instead of making a name for himself in the Hero Industry or in some medical field.

That would be plain rude.

“Here you are.”

A steaming bowl was placed in front of him, along with two plates of side dish and Toshinori blinked at the sight of Oyakodon and Teriyaki Salmon, not quite expecting such simple meal but the scent of it was so compelling that he was already salivating. Even the stir fry looked so delicious.

“Enjoy the meal!”

“Thank you, young Sawada.” Toshinori smiled. “Itadakimasu.”

Picking up the chopstick provided, Toshinori took first bite of the food prepared and almost melted when the taste registered on his taste buds. If there was a taste for heaven, then this would be it because despite its simplicity in look, there was no words he could use to describe the taste that explode in his mouth.

Before he knew it, one bite become another and by the time he realised it, he had already finished everything. It had been such a long time he had been able to stomach anything and finish it all in one sitting. He almost forgot how wonderful such meal was. Normally he couldn’t even muster the appetite to eat anything on a good day.

The chiming laughter of Sawada reached his ears and Toshinori’s eyes met the brunette’s.

“I still have more if you want seconds.” Offered Sawada, holding up another bowl of Oyakodon.

Toshinori blushed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yes please.”

Sawada claimed the now empty dishes to replace it with second serving and this time, Toshinori took the time to savour the taste of it. It didn’t escape his notice how with each bite of the food, he felt more rejuvenated, as if the used hours of his muscle form had been returned and extended. He marvelled at the strength that flowed in him, having nearly forgotten the sensation of power in his now skeletal form.

Toshinori didn’t notice how long it took him to finish it but by the time he returned from the heavenly euphoria, Sawada was sitting beside him with a glass of his own and the shop had been cleared.

“I take it that you liked it?” The amusement in Sawada’s voice was obvious and Toshinori felt torn between embarrassment and enthusiasm. So it was a sheepish smile that made its way to his face.

“Definitely! It was wonderful, young Sawada!”

“I’m glad.” Sawada smiled and the warmth from before intensified.

Toshinori wanted to very much question the young man about it but he doesn’t want to ruin whatever it was that currently budding between them. It was the first time he ever felt this tranquil after facing off against All For One and Toshinori would hate to lose it.

So he kept his mouth shut, savouring the rare moment of peace and companionable silence. It was as if the small diner was removed from the bustling city of Musutafu, a fixed point of tranquil as the world shifted around it.

That night, Toshinori slept with a belly full of warm food, the sweet embrace of peaceful dream lulling him deeper and he could have sworn he heard his beloved mentor’s voice.

 

* * *

 

 

Yagi-san had left and with him, the familiar presence that Tsuna longed for disappeared.

He closed the front door and lingered there with his mind buzzing. He already has an idea what Yagi-san reminded him of but it was a bitter pill to swallow.

"The truth rarely was, Tsuna-kun.”

His fists clenched at his side and Tsuna sucked in a deep shuddery breath. It felt too much, coming face to face with something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Why me?” His voice was barely a whisper, heart clenched tight at the answer he already knew.

“Because you’re the Great Sky.”

Kawahira’s warmth at his back was not the one he wanted but it was the only familiar one he have ever since he was thrown into his messed up reality. No matter how much Tsuna cursed Kawahira for dragging him into this, he was glad he wasn’t alone.

He shuddered to think how it would have been if he was left alone in this brand new world that was not his own.

He would have gone mad from Discord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't know where I'm going with this but well, I'll perhaps make a one shot series where Tsuna meet various other characters or I just make it into a full out multi chapter fic. It could work but this was supposed to be crack idea, I didn't expect for it to take a life of its own threw conflict of messy angst into it to keep me going.
> 
> What do you guys think?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life likes to mess with Tsuna and now he got himself into a secret he doesn't even want.
> 
> All because his Hyper Intuition can't mind its own business instead of snooping in other people's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH GOD!
> 
> I didn't expect such great reaction to this fic. I mean it started as crack after all. And now you all drove me to come up with the second chapter of this fic. Yes second chapter because y'all convinced me to make this into multiple chapter one.
> 
> Thank you so much for the comments and support!

Tsuna knew he was in denial when it comes to Yagi-san’s secret identity, or perhaps it was the other way around since many people would consider Yagi-san as the secret identity to his hero one. He was aware of the truth pointed out by both of his Intuition and Flame since those two never lied to him but that doesn’t mean he could come to term with it.

Of course he had heard of All Might, hard to not to when the man was the number one Hero in the country, not to mention the Symbol of Peace that brought down crime to the current 6% it was now.

People talked about him, the news goes on about him and the papers plastered him all over them. Tsuna would be a blind hermit living under a rock to not hear anything about the blonde.

Now what does All Might has anything to do with his dilemma about Yagi-san’s secret identity?

Well he have everything to do with it since they were the same person.

Tsuna became acutely aware of this when he was saved by none other than All Might himself when he was taken as hostage by a rampaging villain. He knew he could have saved himself, his Flame already rising up beneath his skin but he doesn’t know if Kawahira’s handling of his official papers in this universe would hold out against the scrutiny of the police if he brought their attention on him for using his supposed ‘Quirk’.

So he stayed put, feeling more exasperated than anything when the patrolling Heroes did nothing more than gawk around, unable to handle the villains with their own Quirks’ limitation. Tsuna briefly wondered how in the world these people passed the test to become a Hero when they couldn’t handle small fry with Sand Quirk.

Sure the bodiless villain would be a challenge since physical attack wouldn’t do anything against it but come on, didn’t this people ever learn Science or some simple life hack? A gallon of water or two would do the work since sand and water mixing together would make it heavy, thus slowing down the villain enough to contain him.

Tsuna was so done with them.

Reborn would have made a quick work out of them.

If he was anywhere near a water source, he would have done it himself but the villain had the bright idea to hold him hostage in the local park, where he has source of sand from the sand pit and away from any water. Tsuna will give him a point for that if the villain wasn’t trying to suffocate him.

He needed air to breath after all.

Just when he was contemplating about using his Flame to make a glass sculpture out of the villain, the number one Hero made an entrance by punching at the villain, which caused literal air pressure that blasted the bodiless villain away.

But the thing was, Tsuna was also in the general direction of the villain who snared himself around him and used Tsuna as a meat shield against the gathering Heroes. So he too was blasted back by the air pressure because he didn’t have the time to ready himself against it.

Reborn would kick his ass for it.

And of course that was the exact moment his clumsiness, that he thought Reborn had beaten out of him, decided to make itself known by tripping him over something. He doesn’t remember what happened, only the skull splitting pain on his head and then the sweet embrace of darkness as he submitted himself to it.

* * *

 

 

He woke up to the white ceiling that he knew belonged to a hospital. He had spent way too many time in it to not recognise the faint scent of iodoform that permeate the air.

“Good, you’re awake. How do you feel Tsuna-kun?”

Tsuna blinked groggily, mind still hazy from the concoction of drug and sleep in his system. He glanced to the side and has to deadpan when he saw Kawahira sitting there with the ever present bowl of ramen. He idly wondered why the hospital staff haven’t stopped him yet but knowing Kawahira, the Mist might have thrown up a low level compel shroud to have people turn away from him.

“I did, in fact.” Chortled the Earthling.

 ** _‘Stop reading my mind.’_** Replied Tsuna mentally.

“But yours was delightful as always. I enjoyed it very much.”

**_‘Creepy fucker.’_ **

A mock gasp and “Tsuna-kun! You kissed your mother with that filthy mouth?!”

Tsuna didn’t have the energy to deal with the eccentric Mist and closed his eyes instead of responding to his bait.

Ignore the creepy old man Tsuna.

He was not worth the stress.

“Rude. I wonder what the Sun Arcobaleno had taught you. Your mannerism need adjustment.”

Fuck this shit.

**_“Reborn taught me how to beat people’s ass to the next Sunday. I am sure he would be proud to know I put it to good use when I used you as practice dummy.”_ **

“My how cranky you are after a surgery.”

Of course he would be cranky.

The anaesthetic always made him hungry after all and his Intuition was always thrown out of whack because of it. It would buzz nonstop at the back of his head, warning him about everything that could do him harm in his vulnerable state, which was everything by this point.

It gave him pounding headache and that was not a good combination with the pain in his head.

Wait.

Surgery?

What surgery?

Before he could throw himself up from the bed, a strong hand on his shoulder prevented him from moving an inch. He looked at Kawahira with wide eyes.

“Now Tsuna-kun. Calm down. We don’t want the good doctor’s hard work to be undone now, do we?”

Tsuna opened his mouth to talk but his dry mouth made itself known when he only coughed instead of saying what he wanted to say. A glass was pressed close to his lips but a straw soon materialised when he wasn’t able to drink from it properly in his lying position. Tsuna sucked in a heavenly mouthful of the cool liquid and sagged in relief when it soothed his throat.

“Before you ask, you got injured by the hero’s mishap while handling your hostage situation. Which by the way, I thought you could have handled yourself against such weakling.” Kawahira, obviously displeased by the turn of situation.

His Intuition picked on the underlying worry and Tsuna was torn on being touched by it or be worried for the safety of the villain who took him hostage and the Hero that landed him in the hospital bed.

Mist tend to be illogical in their worry after all and being the oldest of them all, Kawahira’s was always off the chart.

“Don’t worry your little head over it, Tsuna-kun. I’m not that bad.”

The other’s smile rang a bell in his head and Tsuna looked at the older man in utter exasperation.

“Stop. Cease and desist whatever evil plan you’re cooking up in there.”

“They can’t go unpunished.” Countered Kawahira.

“We had this talk Kawahira. Let the society deal with them.”

Kawahira pouted.

The Earthling dared to pout over his foiled plan.

What in the world had his life become?

Since when did he become the wrangler of the most powerful being in the universe?

He was not paid enough to deal with this, in fact he wasn’t paid at all to deal with this bullshit.

But speaking of the Hero that ‘saved’ him, he wondered how the man was. He hoped Kawahira haven’t gotten his hands on him yet. It would be a disaster if the number one Hero suddenly disappear without any trace.

As if summoned by his thoughts, the door of his private ward opened and in came the familiar form of Yagi-san.

Now normally Tsuna wouldn’t notice such thing but combined with his Hyper Intuition going haywire from the anaesthetic and his time with Reborn’s cosplaying shenanigan, he noticed it almost immediately.

It was hard not to when the suit was so eyes-searingly bright on the man’s skeletal frame and it was the same shade as the one worn by All Might (the exact same actually if he wasn’t in denial) when the number one Hero saved him.

His mind easily connected the dots and Tsuna groaned loudly, alarming his visitor.

“Young Sawada! Are you alright? Should I call the doctor?” The blonde rushed to his side and it was almost funny how much a complete reverse this was when compared to their first meeting.

“I am fine Yagi-san. How about you?” Tsuna assured the man, letting him fuss over him even if it unnerved him.

He was not used to people fussing over him.

Reborn would have told him to suck it up.

“I am doing great compared to you who is in the hospital bed.” The teasing would have been a good one if Yagi-san didn’t hack out blood right after it.

With practised ease, Tsuna snatched the tissue box on his bedside table and handed it over to the blonde. He had lost count on how many time this had happened throughout the three months of their acquaintanceship.

“Sit down before I call the doctor on you instead.”

Yagi-san didn’t fight him on that as he sunk into the chair on his other side. He saw the exchanged nod between Yagi-san and Kawahira but decided it was not worth the headache of knowing whatever that was going on between them.

“So how did you know I am here?” Denial. Tsuna already knew the answer but denial was a sweet thing.

“I saw the news. I was worried when they said you were hospitalised. I came as soon as I heard it.” The lie was smooth and Tsuna would have believed him if he didn’t have Hyper Intuition and being a mafia don in training.

“It was just a small mishap. Nothing to worry yourself about, Yagi-san.”

If Tsuna didn’t know who Yagi-san really was, his words may have meant to reassure the man he was alright but knowing the things he did, Tsuna doesn’t want for All Might/Yagi-san to blame himself over what happened. Sure it landed him in the hospital but it was a small price to pay if he could take away the guilt weighing down on Yagi-san’s shoulder.

 

* * *

 

 

Tsuna thought that was the last of it since he didn’t think he would be seeing ‘All Might’ any time soon but that feeble hope of holding onto his denial was dashed when the number one Hero himself stepped into Kawahira’s Diner instead of Yagi-san’s familiar skeletal frame.

His other patrons swooned but they knew better than to disturb the man since Tsuna hold an iron fist rule of no disturbing the other customers if they don’t want to be banned. Sure Heroes were celebrities in this world but they were also human. If they wanted some place to eat in peace, Tsuna will provide it for them.

All Might was not the first Hero that stepped into his hole in the wall shop.

Tsuna welcomed him genially, holding onto his professionalism as the host of the place even if he wanted nothing more than to scream at Fate for throwing wrench into his plan. If All Might noticed Tsuna served him food from the special menu he made for Yagi-san, the man didn’t question him. The blonde consumed the food with vigour, eating double the amount eaten by Yagi-san.

Tsuna wondered about the aspect of All Might’s Quirk. The hint of Mist Flame was obvious with the way the man could go in between his muscle and skeletal form. It reminded him too much of Mukuro’s and Chrome’s situation that it was so ironic to him. The transformation was solid, much like how a Mist would create something from nothing, and nothing from something; thus bewildering the enemy, to render the familigia's true form intangible with visions of deceit.

That was the duty of a Mist but All Might shouldered a heavier responsibility by making himself the Symbol of Peace. He made himself appear strong, pushing against the limitation of his injury so that the tentative age of peace he had ushered could remain. All Might was the vision of grandeur, giving real hope and inspiration to the people instead of ensnaring them in a false one.

He would bet his Vongola Gears that Yagi-san was an Inverted Mist, much like how Skull was an Inverted Cloud. They didn’t fit the regular stereotypes of their Flames but they were still within its domain.

But other than the Mist, there was also presences of Sun and Lightning in All Might, stronger in this form than as Yagi-san’s skeletal one. Tsuna noticed this a lot, how people’s Quirk was influenced by the kind of Flame they have and with it multiple type of Flames in one person.

No wonder Quirks had appeared in this world.

The Trinissette had been broken and without it to properly channel the Flames of Earth, it went haywire. It mutated in order to keep the world alive and in the process, threw the natural flow of Flame out of whack. Thus, the emergence of Quirk instead of Flame.

Tsuna couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was but this Quirk Phenomena was wrong. Everything felt unnatural to him and he has the distinct feeling this world was on a borrowed time.

Whatever this world Kawahira did to this world, it need to be fixed.

And with the way his Intuition was reacting to All Might/Yagi-san, the man plays an important role in fixing this. Tsuna already knew what part Yagi-san will play in this, the familiar presence of the man’s ‘Quirk’ was something he could not deny.

It felt like family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I put in some plots on why Tsuna was brought in as intervention.
> 
> But not specific yet.
> 
> Yeah the BNHA has Flames but it doesn't manifest quite right like it should in KHR and that brought to the birth of Quirks.
> 
> Try guessing why I stressed on All Might/Yagi-san. It was obvious on where I am going with this but I won't say it outright. XD
> 
> DID Y'ALL EXPECT ALL MIGHT TO BE SUN? WELL GUESS WHAT HE'S MIST!
> 
> See y'all in the next chapter and tell me how you like this one!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kawahira likes making his life hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *deep breath* HOLY SHIT!
> 
> I DIDN'T EXPECT SUCH AN ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE TO THIS FIC!
> 
> I MEAN, I HIGHLIGHTED THE CRACK MANY TIME BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THIS FIC WAS ALL ABOUT, CRACK IDEAS.
> 
> (the smattering pieces of angst was a by product of my teenage angst.)

“Kawahira.”

“Tsuna-kun.”

“ _Kawahira_.”

A beat of silence and a tentative smile flashed over the Mist’s face.

“To be fair, he was already in our garbage when I found him.” Appealed the bespectacled man.

Tsuna groaned in dismay, cursing the Trinisette Administrator for making his life so difficult for him. Can’t he go one week without having some curveball be thrown at him? Was it too much to ask for?

“You didn’t pay me to deal with this.”

“I can up your salary…?” Offered Kawahira, eyes flitting between him and the nearest door, as if gouging how fast he would need to be in order to avoid Tsuna’s fraying nerve.

“No amount of money can make me want to deal with Heroes willingly.” Tsuna grouched, feeling offended that the Mist would think he can bribe Tsuna to do that. Nothing could convince him to mingle with one out of his own violation.

“I wonder how Yagi would feel to hear that.”

“Don’t. Yagi is an ill man who just came over for a good meal.” Denial. Sweet denial.

“If you say so.”

“I believe so.”

Before their argument could derail further, the cause of it let out a pained groan from where he laid on the floor. Tsuna looked at the prone form of the man Kawahira had dragged in through the backdoor of the diner and could only sigh in exasperation.

While he didn’t ask for more trouble on his plate, he could not for the sake of his good conscience leave an injured man be.

His mother had raised him better than that.

Looking at Kawahira with a critical look, Tsuna pointed at the unconscious man at his feet and toward the door that lead to the hidden living space. “You brought him in, so it’s your job to make sure he’s comfortable.”

Kawahira pouted but quickly comply when Tsuna shot him a piercing gaze. Mist construct formed around the Hero and it dragged the man away, toward the direction where Tsuna had instructed.

As Kawahira spirited the man away, Tsuna leaned against the counter and screamed into his hands. His Intuition told him this would not be the last time Kawahira would be dragging in people into Tsuna’s life, like a demented cat that brought home its kill and laid it at Tsuna’s feet, forcing him to deal with it instead of taking responsibility for it.

While Tsuna knew he could just call an ambulance and dump the unconscious Hero in the capable hands of trained medic, he had a feeling Kawahira would be finding other ways to drag this man back into Tsuna’s life. And the next time would not be so merciful to the Hero that had gained Kawahira’s unwanted attention.

Tsuna already felt a budding feeling of kinship with the Hero, built on the basis of being the unwilling victim of Kawahira’s scheme.

God no wonder the Vindice wanted to gut him at any chance.

Kawahira was a **_menace_**.

“And here I thought you had come to grow fond of me, dearest Tsuna-kun.”

“Never in a hundred year.”

Kawahira chuckled, as if he was privy to some inside joke that only he knew of and Tsuna’s Intuition rang in warning. It was not an immediate threat toward him though, so his Intuition didn’t pick up much more than whatever it was that had amused Kawahira, it involved Tsuna.

It always did nowadays because Kawahira finds delight in Tsuna’s misery.

“You always did provide the most amusing entertainment after all. Are you sure you haven’t pissed off Fate in your past lives?”

“I am sure you are on her permanent shit list.”

“Touché.”

Snorting at the absurdity of his life, Tsuna shouldered past the Earthling to check upon the Hero Kawahira had dropped into his life. He wouldn’t put it past the Mist to just dump him in a position that would worsen the Hero’s injury.

He knew from personal experience after all. Mists are finicky like that.

And sure enough, he found the dark haired Hero face down on the tatami floor despite the gut wound he sustained and the blood was already seeping into the floor that were very much hard to clean.

Nope.

He was not going to deal with that.

“Your mess, you clean it.” He told Kawahira as he knelt down by the bleeding body. Tsuna rolled the man onto his back and quickly assessed his state with sharp eyes.

Normally, he would have been flailing around at the sight of an unconscious man bleeding at his feet but ever since he was dropped into this world, he had been running on sheer survival instinct, the calmness of Hyper Dying Will mode smothering the full-blown anxiety that simmered under his skin.

Tsuna was half mad with disorientation, Flames lashing out around him in search of any familiar Flames but was only met by the jagged sense of wrongness. It was worse than the time when he was Sealed at the age of five. At least at that time, it was only him who was cut off from the world. This though, it was as if someone had taken all the balance in life and butchered it to the point where everything was **_wrong_**.

Tsuna still could not properly articulate just how **_off_** this world felt to him.

Gone were the melodious Harmony that his surrounding used to give him, in its place was this gaping void that sucked in everything, a grasping maw that shrieked to his senses in demand for things to be returned to its rightful place.

Combining that with Tsuna’s own turmoil over the sudden loss of the Elements he had been courting, it was a very unhinged Tsuna that had arrived into this world. His survival instinct kicked in to protect him from the ramification of what was basically being thrown into a black hole and his Flame roared to life, shining bright in the void that want to suck it dry.

Tsuna never quite exited the Hyper Dying Will mode, for fear that a moment of vulnerability was all it need for this world to swallow him whole.

It took a year of learning under Kawahira for him to finally tone it down to a manageable level, to achieve this state of peaceful calmness granted by hyper focus instead of the hypersensitivity to the world around him. He had been too lost in the eye of the storm to properly remember what Kawahira had done but the Mist had managed to tune out the shriek of the World from driving Tsuna insane.

For that, Tsuna was grateful enough toward the Trinisette Administrator to work with him in order to solve this catastrophic issue. He can’t imagine what would have happened if Kawahira hadn’t found him. Perhaps he would have been sapped dry by the ravenous World.

Yet even with his gratitude toward Kawahira doesn’t mean he will let the man off the hook for all the shit he caused.

It took months of cajoling, threats and outright murder attempt for Kawahira to finally give into Tsuna’s demand of being an active participant in cleaning up this mess Kawahira himself had caused. If it were up to the Mist, it would be another century of pulling strings from behind the scene than taking responsibility for it.

But they doesn’t have that time.

Not with the borrowed time of two centuries Kawahira already had to fix it but didn’t.

Tsuna idly wondered what would have happened if the very universe hadn’t decided to drag Tsuna into this as some form of intervention. Would Kawahira truly lead this world astray? More than he already did?

So it was due to his own fault that Kawahira began to take an active role in bringing the important key players, even if his methods was roundabout and questionable. Tsuna can deny it for all he want but by the end of the day, it was because of him that Yagi ended up before him and now this bleeding Hero.

With a simple concentration, Sun Flame burst to life on his hands, engulfing it in all its vibrant hue. The only good thing that came out of all this was how it easy it had become for him to call forth on his Flame. He didn’t need the pill anymore to induce the state of death in order to trigger the Flame.

All he needed was a simple beckoning toward the well in him and the Flame rise up in answer, purring much like Natsu would, pleased at how easily Tsuna could channel it. But the thing is, it was not only Sky Flame that answered him.

Tsuna was aware that people can channel more than one Element, Gokudera being the prime example of this, but it was a rare phenomenon and he never expected for himself to do the same too. All the other Elements under the Sky answered to him and Kawahira’s explanation on how it was possible for him to do it was moot because it involved too many technical jargon that Tsuna can’t wrap his head around.

While Reborn was a great tutor, he was no miracle worker and Tsuna was still a struggling student who have trouble with Math. People can’t expect him to suddenly be an expert in everything Supernatural and Metaphysics. He was not a genius like Gokudera.

So to simplify it, Kawahira had said it was because all his channels was blown open when this world tried to suck him dry and in order to protect himself, Tsuna’s body had blocked off those channels by funnelling Sky Flame that was fractured into it and in the process, triggered the Flames of his Elements. He doesn’t understand how it happened but Kawahira said his Sky Flame Harmonised with those Flames and made it their own and in the tug of war to keep his Flame in his own body, it had warped those Flames into his.

Yes, Tsuna can channel all seven Elements of the Dying Will Flames of the Sky.

Reborn would have a conniption if he knows about it.

But being able to channel those Flames doesn’t mean Tsuna can wield it. Sky Flame came to him as easily as breathing, a second nature to him and the Sun close behind. He was not surprised because Yuni did say his Flame was the most soothing out of all three Great Skies.

It was surprise to know that Storm was the easiest after those two because Tsuna never viewed himself as a destructive person but then again, life was full of surprise. Lightning and Rain was a touch and go, depending on how much he focused to wield it and the last two of Mist and Cloud being the hardest was of no surprise for him.

He never quite understand the nature of his own respective Element Guardians for him to be able to wield it with no problem.

So with the Sun Flame coating his hands, Tsuna goes to work on the man bleeding on his floor. He let his mind wander as he did it because there were better things to think about than how much blood a human body can lose before it cannot anymore. His mind went over the discarded topic on why Kawahira had brought the man in.

Sure the Mist had agreed to be an active participant but that doesn’t mean the man was loose lipped when it comes to sharing information with Tsuna. Kawahira enjoys watching Tsuna flounder in the dark too much to throw some helpful titbits at him.

“I would be more than willing if you agree to my terms Tsuna-kun.” Interject the devil that made a hobby out of reading Tsuna’s mind. “Well I am more charming than Lucy ever was.”

Nope.

He didn’t hear that.

There was no higher being in life.

There was only a useless administrator to an even more useless system.

Reborn’s arrival into his life and the subsequent crash course into Dying Will Flame had successfully made him lost faith in any higher being. No deity would ever curse him with such cruel of a life.

“You had always been their favourite piece. How good or bad that was is still up for debate.”

“Please stop. I don’t need to know how my life is a personal entertainment for people like you.”

Kawahira opened his mouth to say more worldview breaking things but Tsuna felt no regret at all in throwing a rush of Storm Flame at him.

Yep.

No regret.

He knew Kawahira can take it, so he let the red Flame engulf the Mist.

“Well at least your control had gotten better.” Mussed Kawahira from where he materialised at Tsuna’s left and the disintegrating figure consumed by the Storm Flame faded away to wispy Mist Flame.

“I think I am starting to remember Gokudera’s explanation on how to mix Storm and Cloud. Would you like to help to test it out?” Tsuna flashed him a sickly sweet smile that he had come to master ever since coming to this world. Kawahira immediately backed off with hands raised in placating manner.

It was good to know he managed to instil some form of control over the Mist. It would be a hell lot harder to wrangle the man that he was sent here for. Intervention be damned if he can’t control Kawahira in any way.

“Even Lucy would abdicate his throne if you direct that smile at him.” Quipped Kawahira because the man can’t stop being a smartass.

“Last warning Kawahira.” Said Tsuna, as cool as a cucumber as the smile froze on his face.

Kawahira closed his mouth with an audible click.

Great.

Turning his attention onto the man he was healing, Tsuna judged that he had done more than enough to stop the man from bleeding to death on his floor. So he cut off the Flame absentmindedly. He was not foolish enough to heal the man completely. It would only bring unwanted attention upon him if words got out that he had such a powerful ‘Quirk’.

He had been in this world long enough to know that healing Quirk was rare and something as versatile and limitless like Sun Flame would only land him in some underground lab. Sure he knew Kawahira would bust him out of it but he was not interested in being responsible for the bloodbath that comes with it.

Kawahira was weirdly protective like that. Or it was more to his dislike of having his favourite source of entertainment be touched by others.

Besides, if he have to be on the run from this world’s government, that would mean he can’t feed Yagi-san with more Sun Flame infused meals. That would be a big no in Tsuna’s book because he can’t leave that skeleton of a man be.

So no.

No healing people completely even if he can.

Being a wanted fugitive was not a fun idea.

That one time in some distorted dystopian future was more than enough.

He doesn’t want to repeat that ever again.

So to reiterate his point, Tsuna will not be using his Flames to the fullest extent in this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter had a lot of things going on. I hinted to Tsuna's arrival. I haven't decided on the exact semantics of things behind it yet but I would like to repeat the basis of this fic was purely crack so there will be lots of hand wavy explanation as I push forward the reason why I wrote this fic: 
> 
> Dad Might and Tsuna having some responsible adults in his life. Some and that was not including Kawahira.
> 
> Sure it will start off with Tsuna seemingly having to shoulder things himself on his own but I will fix that later on.
> 
> In this chapter, I explained why Tsuna was mostly calm and collected in this whole thing and more done with everything. It was because he was running on partial Hyper Dying Will mode. He's just supressing it for now. 
> 
> And I realised I haven't set a time line for this fic, which was up in the air btw. So first chapter is in between the 5 years time frame of All Might battle with AFO and him meeting Izuku. I'm not giving specific years yet but it was a year after Tsuna's arrival to BNHA.
> 
> Second chapter was three months after that and this chapter is still in the sewer. I'll vague my way through it for as long as I can because timeline and cohesive plots are not my usual thing but I am learning how to with this fic so bear with me XD
> 
> Hope you like this update!
> 
> I'll see you in the next chapter!
> 
> P.s Try guessing who's that unfortunate Hero that Kawahira had gifted Tsuna with.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His Intuition took a leaf out of Kawahira's book and an unexpected development occurred

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys made some great deductions on who the dumpster man may be and most of you concluded he be Aizawa. It is not surprising considering my wording in the previous chapter but dun dun dun read this chapter to find out who he is XD
> 
> Thank you to all who kudoed, bookmarked and commented this fic. I AM SO HAPPY EVERY TIME Y'ALL DID IT
> 
> Hope you like this chapter too

Tsuna takes back whatever good thing he ever said about his own Intuition.

He thought he could rely on it to be honest with him but no, the alien in his head just had to make things difficult for Tsuna by being a misdirecting manipulative ass. (Like a certain Mist he could name. If he doesn’t know the extent of Kawahira’s power, he would have said Kawahira was the voice behind his Intuition. Tsuna _shudders_ at the thought of it.)

When his Intuition told him the supposed ‘Hero’ that Kawahira had brought in was of no harm toward his own person, Tsuna had assumed the man to be yet another Hero but his presumption was proven wrong when the man lunged at him with a serrated blade upon waking up.

But then again, he should have not assumed.

The many hidden blades on the man’s body should have been more than enough clue that the man was no Hero. Had Tsuna became so desensitised to any form of weapon that he began to think carrying weapon was a normal thing and he shouldn’t be alarmed by anyone who had one?

God it was at if Tsuna had become like his mother. (At the back of his mind, he wondered to himself if his mother’s general airheaded-ness was a natural thing or a coping mechanism to help her deal with the insanity their life had become.)

Back to the situation at hand, it was only thanks to Reborn’s rigorous training that he was able to dodge the attack that would have torn his throat open and the subsequent strike for his head. With a judicious use of soft Sky Flame, he leapt away from the man to gain some distance in order to come up with a plan.

He was in the middle of cleaning the man when his honed instinct shrilled at the back of his mind and only his fast reaction time saved him from the supposedly unconscious man. Tsuna berated himself for letting his guard down the way he did. One small slip was all it needed to seal his fate.

He had been careless.

He had allowed the general peace of the past year to get to him, lulling himself to a false sense of security when he knew he could not afford that. Had he been so convinced on his own safety that his instinct had dulled so much?

A frown creased his brows at the unsettling thoughts.

Tsuna will have to rectify that later.

Now he have a bigger problem on hand when the man who he thought was a Hero turned out not to be one in the first place. He took in the way the injured man looked at his surrounding, disoriented and wary but survival instinct too strong to allow any moment of reprieve. The deceptively loose stance was a smokescreen to the danger that lies behind it.

“If I say I meant you no harm, would you stop moving around before you undo my hard work?” Tsuna asked, deciding to break the standoff because the silence began to feel more awkward than the charged air of anticipation.

The man snorted, shaggy black hair falling into red eyes. Those eyes stared back at him with sharp gaze, cutting into Tsuna with critical intensity, gouging him for all his worth. Tsuna met his gaze calmly, letting the man look for whatever he was searching for because he apparently have nothing better to do.

He was blocked off from the exit since the man loomed over the door and the window was nothing more than illusion that Kawahira casted. Speaking of Kawahira, Tsuna wondered where the Mist had wandered off to. After dropping this man at Tsuna’s feet, the Earthling had made himself scarce and the bowl of ramen Tsuna usually prepared for him sat cold on the breakfast table.

That should have been a warning enough because ever since getting to know Kawahira, the man never declined ramen.

Not once.

But since his Intuition didn’t even so much as twitch at it, Tsuna decided to let it be.

Now however, with how his Intuition failed to warn him about the man who nearly tear open his throat, Tsuna found it hard to believe it anymore.

If it wouldn’t warn him about this apparent danger to his person, Tsuna could only wonder what more it haven’t been telling him.

“I would be dead before that happen, kid.” Answered the man, voice gruff and raspy.

Right, the man.

Tsuna forgot the man was there.

“It would help if you would stop trying to behead me. I was only trying to clean the blood _you_ left on my floor.” Tsuna shot back from where he stood, stance loose and ready for any sudden attack.

His eyes followed every shift the man made, but not on the knife because that would be the stupidest mistake he could make in this situation. Merely focusing on the knife would open him for other form of attack and Tsuna was not that foolish to allow it.

Reborn had pounded that into his head hard enough for it to stick.

But he called forth on his Flame just in case. While it was easier for him to ignite the Flame, he still have to focus in order to wield it without the proper equipment to channel it. The Vongola ring on his neck was nothing more than an empty vessel. The aspect of Trinissette that made it special and powerful didn’t follow him into this world.

So he was left with his own fist because Kawahira haven’t found any ring that was strong enough to channel his Flame and Talbot was nowhere to be found.

Tsuna would need to deal with that as soon as possible because he felt vulnerable not being able to use his own Flame the way he wanted. He doesn’t need another handicap holding him back.  
  
“Look,” Tsuna began, meeting the man’s eyes over the distance. “My boss found you in our dumpster and told me to fix you. I didn’t make a habit of questioning him.” Much, because someone have to keep the Earthling in check and that job now fall onto Tsuna because the universe decided he was the intervention Kawahira needed.

“I am only doing my job, sir. So could you please sit down before you bleed all over my floor again?” He implored, his eyes a pair of glowing sunset.

Tsuna have no regret in throwing around the softer Sky Flame because he have no other tool to protect himself if the man decided to attack him for real. He still have his more destructive Flames of course but that would be an overkill and Tsuna was not looking forward to renovating the place.

Even if he knew Kawahira could handle it.

He watched as the man blinked, eyes glazing over as he went under the influence of the Flame. Tsuna allowed himself to momentarily relax but quickly seized back to attention when the man lurched forward, stumbling all over his own legs.

Tsuna resisted the instinctive urge to reach out and steady him because he was not willing to take the risk of it being a ruse to get him within arm distance of the man. Being in arm distance meant he would be in knife’s range and Tsuna was not suicidal enough to even tempt Fate.

Bleeding all over from a torn throat was not in his list of things to do.

The man fall flat on his face and Tsuna waited a handful of minutes to see if he would move or not before cautiously making his way to his unwanted guest. While he wanted to stop the man from attacking him further, Tsuna does not want him dead.

Being Kawahira’s unwilling accomplice was more than enough. Adding manslaughter to it would be a line he will not cross.

He can’t cross that.

Not when he doesn’t know if he would be able to come back from that or not.

With a bit of concentration, Tsuna called for his Rain Flame to wash over the man just in case he was able to resist the Sky Flame. Yet as both of his Flames mingled with the man’s something clicked at the back of his mind and with a deafening clang, the previously scattered pieces slotted back together again. 

No.

No. No. No. No. No. No.

Stop!

**NO!**

Tsuna cut off his Flames vehemently, backing away from the limp form of the man with frantic nerves clouding his senses. His Intuition’s shriek of joy didn’t help his jumbled up thoughts

That didn’t happen!

He didn’t just Bond with someone!

His own Flame rises up in answer to his panic and Tsuna didn’t miss the way the orange fire reached out to the dark haired man on the floor, going to him through the unseen Bond that Tsuna didn’t mean nor want to create.

Wrestling it away from the man proves to be futile and Tsuna contemplated about breaking the budding Bond before it could become more.

Reborn had warned him against breaking one, citing the backlash was not worth it but Tsuna could not just let this be. He doesn’t know if he would even stay in this world to let this Bond happen. No matter how easily Tsuna had clicked with this man, he couldn’t possibly allow such thing to go on.

The fact that it was easy for a Bond to snap into place scared him the most.

Even with his own Guardian, it took him years for a budding Bond to form and they all were Flame active when Tsuna began to Court them for real. So why was it so easy now?

Had the emergence of Quirk caused it to be easier for him to Bond with an Element?

But even so, why this man?

Was it because Kawahira had chosen him?

Had the Mist known all along?

What would happen if Tsuna were to break this Bond?

Would the repercussion of it be worse than in his own world?

All the questions swam in his head as Tsuna tried to breathe through the panic in his system. It was an endless cycle of him panicking before it was smothered by the faux calmness of the Sky Flame but was soon triggered into another fit of hysteria again by the multitude of questions that his hysteric mind conjured.

Again and again.

It happened to the point Tsuna felt faint, black dotting his vision. It felt too much. Everything felt too much and the pressure built up in him, making him feel like he would explode soon if he don’t _breathe._

 ** _“Breathe, little Sky. Breathe for me.”_**   The compel rang in his mind as the warmth of Flame washed over him, enveloping him in its tender embrace. Tsuna’s body instinctively heed the words of compel and he sucked in the air that he desperately needed.

In, hold, out.

In, hold, out.

He followed the rhythm, repeating it all over again until he could finally breathe. The panic slowly trickled out from his system, leaving him feeling sluggish and completely drained.

It was no surprise since this was not the first panic attack he had.

He had plenty of it before Reborn’s arrival and him subsequent arrival to this world had increased it in frequency despite his own Flame’s best attempt to smother it. Tsuna had gotten better at managing it but it looked like his fear of Bonding with someone had managed to trigger him into one.

Tsuna had been trying to steer clear of anything relating to Bonding because it would always reminded him to what he had lost but actually Bonding to someone was all it needed to make his situation all the more real.

There would be no way for him to deny what had happened, what he had lost. He can’t bury his head in the sand and hope for it to go away anymore.

“Everything will be alright my dear Sky.” Kawahira whispered, his big hand combing through Tsuna’s hair in comforting manner. Tsuna pressed closer to the beating heart under his ear, letting the rhythmic beat lull him.

It was calming.

Tsuna allowed himself to be held by the Mist, taking comfort from his warmth and Flame. It was the only constant thing he have ever since he arrived in this world and Tsuna needed the familiar sense of security that Kawahira provided him after the bad episode he had.

But even with the exhaustion weighing him down, Tsuna needed answers, one that Kawahira have. He can’t keep going on like this. It wouldn’t be fair to the man he had Bonded with.

What kind of Sky would he be if being around him made Tsuna hyperventilate?

So he needed to deal with this before the man wake up again.

“Who is he Kawahira?” Tsuna began with the simple question because he felt too drained to hear the answers for the more complicated one.

“Akaguro Chizome. A vigilante by the name Stendhal.”

Vigilante.

Of course it has to be vigilante.

Is this Karma coming to collect his debts?

Is this some sort of cosmic joke where the universe took his words too literally?

The subsided hysteric returned with vengeance but before he could fall into another round of panic attack, Kawahira overwhelmed him with his Flame.

And so Tsuna drowned.

Following the words that went unsaid, he slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first I wanted to just go with Aizawa as dumpster man but my brain decided crack idea of Stendhal/Stain working with Tsuna and him fanboying whenever All Might dropped over is just too much for me to ignore. So have Stendhal being dragged into all of this.
> 
> So yeah, it's Stendhal here and not Stain since he haven't crossed path with Knuckleduster yet, so his ideology is still more to conviction than True Hero. He's still a vigilante and not a villain. I shall address him as either Stendhal or Chizome to split his civilian side and vigilante side since he do have split personality between them.
> 
> As for the Bonding, I couldn't resist it. Stendhal still has a good point to him and I think Tsuna would need someone like him to face the events ahead.
> 
> In my personal Flame Lore, there's two stages of Harmonisation.  
> First is Bonding, where as the name stated, a Bond form between a Sky and an Elements. They will be called the Sky's Elements and will follow them. The second stage is the actual Guardianship where the Bond between the Sky and the Bonded one manage to achieve a level of implicit and intimate trust between them. Unlike Tsuna's supposed Guardian in KHR, these Guardian will be his closest people with or without Ring. So to avoid future confusion, these Intimate Guardians shall be called Protector.
> 
> Stendhal as Rain is because I saw how him being vigilante/Hero Killer is his way of washing away society's problem. Besides, his Quirk being able to slow people down???? Rain all the way.
> 
> Tsuna snagged a Rain for himself already XD
> 
> Leave a comment if you have any questions for me and see y'all in the next chapter


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kawahira got roasted and Nezu is plotting murder. Tsuna is so done with it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ajdfksdf NEARLY 5K! I DIDN'T EXPECT SUCH HIT WHEN I STARTED THIS CRACK IDEA! AND 400+ KUDOS AND 100 COMMENTS!! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE COMMENTS AND SUPPORT!!!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this new update!

“Kawahira you reckless fool.”

Tsuna choked on the tea he had been sipping on because leave it to Nezu to call Kawahira out for his bullshit. It was a refreshing sight to see the Mist be dressed down by the mammal of unknown species, especially when Nezu was barely half his height.

He aspire to reach Nezu’s level of serene calmness in the face of such bullshit.

“It was for the greater good.” Yep that’s a pout in the Earthling’s voice and with the way the man pursed his lips, he was also physically pouting at their guest.

Nezu didn’t so much as blink at the sight of it.

“And yet you still staged the Bonding to happen even when we don’t know how it would affect Tsuna-kun.” The accusation in Nezu’s eyes could kill a man if it was a physical blade and Kawahira would be a dead man with the way it kept on stabbing said Mist with its piercing gaze.

Tsuna can only watch as the two battled their wits against each other, words sharp and points loaded up like bullets to be fired off at the other. It was like watching a tennis battle with how the two of them went back and forth at fast pace.

He was aware that he was the topic of this particular heated debate but he doesn’t think he would even get his two cent in with the way the two of them were interjecting at each other.

So he sat to the side while sipping on the tea Nezu had made.

The U.A principal was already there when Tsuna woke up from his forced sleep and he was already verbally maiming Kawahira over what had happened. Tsuna doesn’t know how the mammal knew of it so fast but Tsuna welcomed his presence with open arms.

Between Kawahira and Nezu, he preferred the mammal more than he did Kawahira. He would choose Nezu as company any day over the Mist.

**_“Betrayal! Betrayed by my own little Sky!”_ **

Tsuna didn’t so much as twitch at the voice that rang in his head, having gotten used with the way Kawahira often popped into it. A glance at his supposed employer, Kawahira didn’t even stop his bantering with Nezu despite poking at Tsuna’s mind.

“It is not betrayal when it was not a hard decision to make in the first place.” He said out loud and sipped on the tea as Kawahira sputtered indignantly.

An amused huff from Nezu told him that the mammal already connected the dots on what their mental conversation could be despite the ambiguous nature of Tsuna’s sudden quip. Tsuna admires that about him, the way Nezu’s supposed Quirk boosted his intellect to the point of precognition when it comes to predicting patterns and strategies.

Out of all Skies Tsuna had met, who was not Byakuran and Yuni of course since no one could compare to the other halves of the Trinisette, Tsuna will readily admit that Nezu was the one who he wholly admired and aspire to be.

Even if Nezu could never properly channel the Sky that sang in his vein, Tsuna knew that doesn’t make him any less of a powerful Sky and like any good Sky, Nezu took good care of those under his domain and everyone on his school ground was considered as his.

If Tsuna have to confess, Nezu makes for a great Sky if what he had went through hadn’t twisted his Harmony to the point where it left him unhinged most days. Nezu was a great Sky and despite teetering at the edge of Discord, he still pulled in many potential Elements to him.

Them working for him as teachers at the school notwithstanding.

Putting aside his cup of tea, Tsuna reached out to the white furred mammal who readily allowed himself to be picked up by him. And Tsuna was grateful that Nezu indulged him this much.

Other than being a powerful Sky that soothed at Tsuna’s fraying edges, Nezu also reminded him of Reborn, which weirdly comforted him instead of the spiked fear any mention of Reborn usually caused. Tsuna didn’t know when Reborn had become a source of assurance but he does and Tsuna freely admit that he missed the tutor.

In his madness of being thrown into a whole other world, Tsuna had mistaken Nezu for Reborn with the way the both of them dressed so primly despite their small stature.

It was the small hitch that Kawahira had needed to finally put Tsuna under, letting him drown in the Mist Flame instead of allowing him to lash out to the world in his fit of rage. His own Sky Flame was not as forgiving at being torn away from the Elements it had been vying for.

The events following that was a haze in Tsuna’s mind. He barely remembered the months that followed his reeling at the edge of Discord but he could always remember Nezu’s presence there, an unshakable warm presence that anchored him to the world that tried to sweep him away with its tide.

Besides Kawahira, Nezu was also his anchor, his voice of reason and also the source of his comfort. Nezu may reminded him of Reborn but he was also everything Reborn wasn’t.

Oh don’t him wrong, both of them were sadistic and took great joy in toying with people but Nezu was more open with his words and worry for Tsuna. Unlike Reborn who often threw Tsuna into the deep end to make him learn, Nezu took the time to walk Tsuna through it in order to make sure he properly understand it all.

He also fought against Kawahira over many things on Tsuna’s behalf, most of it voicing his disagreement of letting a child like Tsuna to shoulder the heavy burden of their world. It had been weird for Tsuna at first, to have an adult who openly objected to the things he was forced to go through and Tsuna didn’t know how to react to that but Nezu never stopped fighting for him and it warmed him to know Nezu cares enough about him to go against the strongest being in this world.

He had missed the earlier verbal lashing Nezu tend to inflict upon Kawahira, having been way too out of it in the beginning but the one after that had always been a work of beauty that Tsuna could not help but wish he was mentally present during the earlier days of his arrival.

Kawahira being verbally put in his place?

 Sign him up any day.

He would even bring popcorn for it.

“How are you Tsuna-kun?” Nezu’s genial voice pulled him away from his thoughts and Tsuna gave into the urge to snuggle close to him. Nezu comes in the perfect size for cuddling him in his arms.

“I am doing fine Nezu-san.”

“Is the Bond hurting you?” Tsuna didn’t have to look at him to know he was glaring dagger at Kawahira, who sat at the side with his own cup of tea and still sulking over being side-lined.

“No.” He paused, mulling over the Bond that now attached to the spot that used to be Takeshi’s. A small part of him was frightened over how easily his Sky had clicked with the man and what it meant for the previously frayed one with his Guardian.

“It is…fulfilling…” He answered it with that due to the lack of better word to describe how the Bond felt to him. It made him feel something, filling the void left behind from having all of his Guardians’ fledgling Bonds be torn away the way it did.

He felt more balanced than he ever did ever since arriving to this world.

Tsuna knew he needed the Bond to keep himself from falling to edge again but that doesn’t mean he would have to like it. To him, he already have his own Elements and he doesn’t need a new one but thinking like that wouldn’t be fair for the Rain he had Bonded with. The man didn’t ask to be bound to Tsuna like this too and it would be unfair for Tsuna to neglect the Rain just because he can’t move on from his own lost Guardians.

Despite him constantly hounding Kawahira about his fate after all of this issues were resolved, Tsuna feared what the outcome may be. His own Intuition had been oddly quiet about it, not even responding to him during the earlier months of him poking at it for answer. His subconscious may have already had an inkling of things will go in the future but Tsuna’s conscious mind could not accept it.

How can he accept when everything pointed at him never going back?

What about the people he left behind?

His friends?

His family?

His **_mom?_**

What would happen to them?

Tsuna was aware that most of his friends depended on him more than he would have liked, Hayato for a grand purpose, Takeshi for his will to live, Chrome for a safe place, Mukuro for his _freedom._

In conclusion, Tsuna can’t stay here.

Even if he have to return to a life he doesn’t want, one of crime because his own blood was so entrenched in it that it dragged him into it, Tsuna wanted to return for the people that he had come to cherish. For them, he will weather through this so that he can return home to them.

Yet even if he were to return, what of the Elements he Bonded with here? Can he subject them to the pain of Discord just because he wanted to go back home?

It was a hard decision for him to make.

With his own Guardians, it had been more easier due to the lack of solid Bond between them but just because his own Flame hadn’t snared itself around them doesn’t they mean they were any less to him. They are his friends.

“But…am I replacing my Guardians?” Was it selfish of him to long for their Bonds when he snagged one out of necessities?

The soft paw on his cheek have him looking down at Nezu, eyes prickling with unbidden tears. There was no judgement in the inky black eyes, no disapproval nor disappointment for failing to achieve some hidden expectation, just open care.

“I may still be new to all these Flames and Harmony things but I know for a fact that you aren’t. Your Sky is vast Tsuna-kun. You can have more than one Elements Bonded to you because you have plenty of love to share with them all.” Nezu’s voice was soothing as his latent Flame brushed against Tsuna’s, twining together in mutual comfort.

“Nezu is correct on that one Tsuna-kun. You’re one of the Great Skies and the purest one ever born that was not an Earthling. I can confirm that you can indeed shelter more Elements within your domain because your heart is limitless.” Kawahira added from his left and Tsuna didn’t realise when the MIst had moved so close but he welcomed the Mist Flame that tangled itself with his as easily as breathing.

“We all know you would need Elements to stabilise you in this world. Kawahira’s power and your own Hyper Dying Will mode can only do so much. It was about time you pulled in a potential Bondmate before you fall into a Discord that you will never return from.” Nezu paused, his beady eyes sliding over to Kawahira with disapproval. “Though I would have liked for you to Bond with them at your own time, not because of the meddling of some nosy cretin.”

Kawhira feigned hurt but the curl of his lips have Tsuna rolling his eyes at the drama between the two. He hadn’t gotten the full story about their first encounter with each other but Nezu had hinted to there being some explosion and property damage, which was not surprising at all to Tsuna because knowing Kawahira, he managed to mess things up somehow.

“Ungrateful child, the lots of you. I will have you know that I never mess anything.” Sniffed Kawahira, in a way only a prideful being can.

Twin deadpan gaze was thrown at him courtesy of Tsuna and Nezu and Kawahira met their gaze evenly. It was obvious that the Mist has nothing to prove to them despite all three of them knowing that it was Kawahira’s own fuck up that brought them here.

“Anyway,” Nezu dragged, eyes still boring hole into Kawahira. “You may need to explain things to this new Rain of yours. Talking things out now will help prevent future misunderstanding, something that you wouldn’t want to happen when you know you’ll need him.” It was an obvious jab toward Kawahira and Tsuna couldn’t help but giggle because Nezu will take any chance at letting Kawahira know of his disapproval.

Kawahira made a rude gesture with his hand and Nezu merely looked down at him through his nose, an amazing feat considering he was half of Kawahira’s height and being cuddled by Tsuna.

“I know but how do you talk to someone who just tried to kill you?” Tsuna asked, mulling over it himself.

“Well you already have a track record with that. Weren’t most of your current friends were people who tried to kill you in the first place? Though there were no kicking his ass and handing it over to him involved this time around. So that may be a challenge.” Kawahira pointed out with a teasing edge to his voice.

Tsuna blushed in both embarrassment and mortification because he have nothing to counter that. It was not his fault that the people who tried to kill him ended up being good company after some hashing things out via their fists or weapon of choices.

“There’s no need to use violence Kawahira! I can talk with him fine enough without adding injury to it!”

Kawahira looked sceptical about it but he didn’t voice out his doubt.

Tsuna huffed indignantly and hugged Nezu closer for more comfort. He so can talk with people like civilised human being. Just because most of his now friends liked to talk with their fists doesn’t mean he can’t hold a normal conversation.

Just you watch Kawahira, the conversation with his Rain will go off without a hitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEP NEZU IS THE FIRST RESPONSIBLE ADULT!!! 
> 
> He gonna be roasting Kawahira left and right for all of his bad decisions. Besides, him and Tsuna cuddling was too adorable for me to pass off and so have this fluffy image. 
> 
> Nezu is a Sky due to his High Spec was almost like Hyper Intuition and also because I like the irony. All the teachers at UA are his potential Elements so don't expect any of them to end up being Tsuna's because Tsuna respect Nezu too much to meddle with them. (Not that Kawahira would allow that to stop him *side eye Kawahira*)
> 
> So in this, I decided on some part on how Tsuna arrived and what happened during it. This is just a filler chapter for me to introduce Nezu and explain on some things before having Tsuna talk with Stendhal.
> 
> TSUNA NEEDS MORE RESPONSIBLE ADULTS IN HIS LIFE AND THEY'RE NOT KAWAHIRA.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited talk happened and decision to be made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I just updated this but since I would be busy in the next few weeks, I think it would be better for me to put this up now for you guys to sustain on before my return XD
> 
> Thank you for all the comment and support on the previous chapter!!! I DIDN'T EXPECT TO EVEN BREACH 5K WITH THIS FIC

At this point in his life, Tsuna have the general feeling that life in itself have a vendetta against him. Can’t he catch a break without he be thrown into some cosmic mess caused by other people who was supposed to be responsible of said mess in the first place?

Seriously, did he have some sign that said he was the handler for fuck up?

Sure, he wouldn’t mind helping out those who needed help but he was still a teenager. He was only fifteen and yet this was thrice the fate of the world was placed upon his shoulder. The first two time weren’t so bad when compared to the third time because at least during it he had his friends, allies who were more than willing to band together with him to save it but this time he was practically alone.

Other than Kawahira who would like nothing more than just pull the strings from the shadow, he has no ally in this world, no backup who would support him through all the hardship. It was maddening for him to think of a way where he can help save this dying world. There was only so much he can help with because he too was only introduced to the knowledge of Flame. His knowledge was limited and how in the world the universe expected for him to do anything.

Tsuna was no Hayato. He wasn’t a genius like his Storm Guardian nor was he an average student to begin with. Before Reborn, he was **_Dame Tsuna_** , always bringing home F from his tests. Even with Reborn’s threat and physical urging during his actual academic tutoring, he still struggled to learn the syllabus.

It was the first time his mind was clear enough for him absorb things, to make sense of what he was even reading. He was confused by the sudden improvement and had chalked it off as Reborn’s method to be effective but the more he was entrenched with the Sky Flame he came to rely on in order to survive the ordeals he faced, the more he noticed how much more clearer his mind was before Reborn first shot him with a Dying Will bullets.

He doesn’t understand as to why it happened even when he had his own suspicion but it was not until Byakuran dropped by for a visit after the Arcobaleno debacle that he knows why.

He was Sealed.

Timoteo, the Ninth boss, his supposed grandfather figure had Sealed him.

He was Sealed when him Flame was Active. Timoteo had Sealed away his Harmony.

_Timoteo had **crippled** him._

The reason behind the heavy fog in his minds and gripping numbness in his limbs was because of the Ninth. All the suffering that he went through just because his own body could not obey him was because of Timoteo.

He was Dame Tsuna because of Timoteo.

Normally Tsuna would have doubted Byakuran’s claim on the basis of who he was before he allied himself to Tsuna but with his own Intuition and Reborn’s confirmation later on, he could not deny the truth of it all.

Timoteo had condemned him to a slow painful death.

And he have the gall trying to force the Famiglia onto Tsuna now that he have no heirs left to inherit it from him. Timoteo had the gall to try and establish himself as a kind grandfather figure to Tsuna now that he has a use for Tsuna when all of Tsuna’s life he was never around after he **_crippled_** Tsuna to stave off any competition to the Vongola throne.

And the worst part of it all was his own father – no – Iemitsu. _(He was **not** his father)_

Iemitsu had known it all along when Tsuna suddenly became ‘clumsy’ and he had allowed for his boss to cripple his own son. Iemitsu had allowed Timoteo to Seal away Tsuna’s Flame despite knowing the consequences of such action would do to Tsuna.

The betrayal on Iemitsu’s part was of no surprise to Tsuna. The man was never around to begin with and when he finally did return, the man was a drunk buffoon who lazed around and burdened his mother with his unwanted presence.

Tsuna and his mother had been happy without him and now to know that Iemitsu had easily allowed Tsuna to be essentially ** _violated_** by his boss, Tsuna hated him all the more. He hated Iemitsu for never being there to wipe away the tears his mother thought Tsuna never saw. He hated Iemitsu for being the cause of it.

Tsuna hated Iemitsu.

And to an extent, his rage extended to Vongola as a whole too.

Iemitsu, his supposed father, had sacrificed it all for Vongola, even his own wife and son. Vongola was not Iemitsu’s mistress, if anything, it was Nana who had been Iemitsu’s mistress. She was someone who Iemitsu kept at the side for some dillydallying before returning to his real wife, the Vongola, that consumed most of his time and attention. Tsuna was yet another one of his own pawn to get a stronger grip on the Famiglia.

Tsuna hated Vongola too for all the pain and suffering it caused him.

It cost Tsuna his own growth, his freedom and will and now his own innocence. **~~Byakuran’s scream as Tsuna’s Flame dissipated him still haunted his dream.~~**

But even with all that, it also gave him his friends. All of the people that he came to cherish, all those amazing people that he got to knew was all thanks to Tsuna being forced into the madness his life had become.

He grew up to be more thanks to all the hardship he faced but it was also due to that growth he was dragged into this world. If he hadn’t achieved the hidden criteria this world needed in a Sky, Tsuna wouldn’t have been plucked out of his own life and be dropped into a completely different one with no friends or ally to call his own.

He wouldn’t have been expected to solve a world crisis when he was barely into his teenage years. Hell he hadn’t even hit puberty yet.

What can a teen like him do to save the world by his lonesome?

He knew **_nothing_** about this world and its own issues and those issues and breed men like the one who currently sat in front of him. It was obvious from the get go that his Rain was unhinged, twisted by the very society he lived in to the point where he thought murder was an acceptable option.

What can Tsuna do to even help the world when he doesn’t even know how to help his own Rain?

Nezu’s wise advice didn’t tell him how to deal with men like him. The closest thing he ever experienced to Akaguro-san was Mukuro but at least with his Mist Guardian, Tsuna already knows what his issue was all about and why he do things the way it was.

His own Hyper Intuition can only help him so much from divulging minor details about the man and Kawahira was not very forthcoming when asked for more. His vaguely cryptic answer on who the man was only left Tsuna with more question than answers.

“Are you gonna stare at me all day or are you gonna explain why the hell I feel the need to cuddle you,” Akaguro spat out the word cuddle like venom and Tsuna squeaked in respond because while he had read documentation on how new Bonds worked, he didn’t expect for **_that_**.

He only thought they needed to be close in order to allow the Bond to settle, not actual skin ship. While Tsuna himself likes cuddles, he shuddered at the thought of cuddling people who just tried to kill him. He quickly banished the image of him cuddling with Mukuro, Xanxus and Byakuran from his mind.

It was a terrifying image.

“While the urge is understandable, we would appreciate if you don’t act upon it.” Nezu interjected, eyes narrowed into a dangerous slit from his perch on Tsuna’s lap. Tsuna felt conflicted if it was out of concern for Tsuna’s safety or his unwillingness to share.

Tsuna cleared his throat to break the two apart from their impromptu glaring contest and smiled weakly at Akaguro-san when the man met his eyes over the tea table they all were sitting around.

“Anyway, I will try to explain it as much as I can since I too am still new to this whole thing.” Tsuna said earnestly, trying to convey to them man that he would be trying his best to explain. “Everything may sound ridiculous to you but what I am about to say to you is the truth.” He added just to be safe.

“Fine.” Agreed Akaguro-san after moment of silence and Tsuna heaved a silent sigh of relief. Cooperation would go a long way. Tsuna would need it to go through with his long explanation.

Taking in a deep breath, Tsuna called onto his Sky Flame, letting its calmness sooth at his nerves as he fell deeper into the Hyper Dying Will state. Tsuna held out his hand and the orange Flame burned brightly on his palm, dancing merrily as it reached out for the Rain sitting across him.

“This may looked like an ordinary fire but it is not. It is the Sky Flame, the condensation of my resolve.” The man perked up at the word resolve, looking at the Flame with more rapt interest.

“It was because of this Flame that I Bonded with you. The urge that you feel toward me was because of the new Bond that was established between us. You’re now my Element, my Rain.” Actually saying the words left a bittersweet taste on his tongue. Here he was, claiming the man as his Rain when his mind went to Takeshi, his dearest Rain that he was forced to leave behind.

“So assuming by the name, these Flames you called it as, it was weather themed?” The man sounded dubious but he never once took his eyes of the Flame dancing on Tsuna’s palm. Tsuna laughed lightly because he too had been doubtful when first introduced to Flame.

Before he could continue on with his explanation, Kawahira waved a hand with a flourish and illusion came to life. There was a miniature of Tsuna with Sky Flame on his brows and also one of Akaguro-san with the blue of the Rain Flame engulfing his body. There were five other miniatures alongside it, each with its respective Flame elements and it didn’t escape Tsuna’s notice that the Mist one was of Kawahira. His Intuition merely hummed quietly when poked.

“Thank you Kawahira.” Tsuna smiled at the Earthling because this would be helpful in explaining the Flames. Besides, the show of power would help convince him this was all true. So he pulled back his hand, extinguishing the small ball of Sky Flame from his hand now that he have no further use of it.

“As explained before, this one is myself with Sky Flame. A Sky is known for its Harmony that allowed for us to not only Bond with other Elements but also be attuned to the world around us. Every human was born with these Flames with the only difference being the types. There seven in total, Rain like yourself with the characteristic of Tranquillity that allows you to slow things down actually. Then there’s Storm with Disintegration, Lightining with Hardening, Sun with activation, Cloud with Propagation and lastly Mist with Construction as shown by Kawahira. He can create solid illusions like the one you’re currently seeing.”

As he speaks, the small figure of Tsuna that Kawahira conjured began to move around on the table, tapping on the other six. Each tap of its hand caused the respective colour of each Flame to appear as a link between it and the six miniatures and each of the Elements showed how their Flame characteristics worked.

Well that simplified it.

Pointing at the blue and orange link between the miniatures of him and the man, Tsuna continued on with his explanation. “This is the Bond between us. But before you say anything, it was accidental. I did not mean for it to happen in the first place.”

This time, it was Tsuna who met the man’s eyes evenly, wanting with all of his might for the man, his Rain, to believe that he didn’t intend to bind the man to him. He never wanted to be the person who takes the freedom of someone else nor the one who took the choice of their hands because he himself knew how it felt to have none of his words mean anything in his own life.

“It can be broken if you wish to not be associated with it.” The silent ‘with me’ was unspoken and hung in the air. Tsuna didn’t let any of his own feelings on that matter show on his face because this was not about him. This was for the man to decide his own life instead of having Tsuna’s mess be spilled onto him.

A lull fell onto the room as its occupants mull over what was said and Tsuna relaxed under Nezu’s gentle paws patting on his hands.

“What does this bond entail? You said I am your Element but why this sudden pull toward you? There must be more than it simply because of its newness.” The question caught Tsuna off-guard because despite wanting to form a Bond with his own Guardians, he doesn’t know how it felt and what it entails. The lure of a Bond had always felt natural to him after using his own Flame as much as he did but Tsuna had never bothered to look deeper into it. He have the general ideas of it but nothing specific to help answer the man’s question.

“If I may,” Kawahira cuts in. “A Sky needed its Elements in order to maintain their stability. For an active one like Tsuna-kun, he would need a full set of them in order to do so. This pull you felt toward him is because of his Sky Attraction being hard at work. There was supposed to be a period of time where a Sky and its Elements candidate were supposed to in a word ‘Court’ each other and for the Elements to get used to the Sky’s Attraction in order for a Bond to form. However, the one between yours and Tsuna-kun was an instantaneous one, making neither of you have the time to get used to each other. The constant pull you felt was because the Bond was trying to compensate you for the lost time of Courting.”

The Mist paused in his lengthy explanation, eyes flicking over to Tsuna before turning back to Akaguro-san. “In other word, the Bond wants you to spend time with each other to get to know the other better.” His voice has a teasing edge to it and Tsuna can’t help but blush at the implication Kawahira made. When the Earthling puts it like that, it was as if he and his Rain was Shanghaied into an instant marriage like those cheesy soap opera Kawahira secretly love to watch.

“Nevertheless,” This time it was Nezu-san who interjected, joining into the conversation before Kawahira can steer it toward something messy just because the Mist thought it would be funny. “It is a two way street. Both party needed to put effort in order to maintain this Bond and while you may see no use of having such tie to a teenager, please think it over. Tsuna-kun, unlike any other Sky such as myself, needed the Bond in order to live. Breaking the Bond may have a dire consequences toward him.”

The room was dead silent after that particular bomb was dropped.

“Nezu-san! There was no need to tell him that!” Tsuna was quick to protest because there was no need to pressure the man into this. It was bad enough that he didn’t even have the choice in the first place, there was no reason for Nezu-san to basically emotionally strong arm him into keeping the Bond.

“Tsuna-kun, we both know you needed that Bond. We had talked about this before and you yourself know you can’t go on without an Element.” Nezu-san was firm and not budging over it.

“Even so, you can’t just manipulate him like that. It’s not right!”

“And instead let you die? Don’t be foolish Tsuna-kun, you know I would never allow that.”

The two of them dissolved into an argument that had been long coming. Tsuna knew Nezu-san was only looking out for him but that doesn’t mean he would be willing to let an innocent bystander be dragged into his problem.

No one should have to be burdened by him.

“I agree.” Akaguro-san suddenly declared, cutting in between the heated argument easily.

Tsuna halted in the scathing remark he was about to say to Nezu-san and looked at his Rain with wide eyes. Did the man just agree to what he think it was? He quickly turned toward Kawahira for answer and saw the Mist sipping his tea with deceptively serene look.

He immediately knew Kawahira had a hand at the sudden agreement from Akaguro-san.

“What did you do?” Tsuna demanded.

“Sharing, as you often asked me to do.” Kawahira responded airily.

“On what? I would rather you not tell him false one just so you can have him do your bidding.”

“Everything. He now knows you’re not of this world.”

That have Tsuna’s mind screeching to a halt because to be honest, he didn’t expect that. Prying information from Kawahira was as hard as trying to chip away at Reborn’s armor, which was impossible in the first place. So for Kawahira to readily share his knowledge with someone, it was more than just a surprise, it was a miracle at work.

“You know I would do anything for you, Tsuna-kun.”

Tsuna knows that but he also knows one thing too. “You would do anything for Trinisette, Kawahira. I am just your pawn to achieve that.” An unknown emotion flashed across Kawahira’s face but it was gone before Tsuna can even pick it up.

“You’re right. So I took the liberty of filling Akaguro-kun here with everything he would need to know.” So that the Rain would agree goes unsaid.

“Oi brat.” Tsuna turned toward Akaguro-san and for a moment, all he saw was Xanxus, what with the red eyes and dark hair. The familiar nickname Xanxus often used to call him now was not helping him at all in curbing his longing for home.

“Just because the creepy man explained the situation to me through his invasive mojo, that doesn’t mean I would just roll over for you. Prove to me you’re worth it. Show me your resolve”

The demand was easy enough for Tsuna to fulfil because if there was anything Tsuna have left, it was resolve. He have plenty of it.

He resolved to go back home no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know I said in the 4th chapter that Stendhal didn't meet Knuckleduster yet but I decided to go through with it for some plot points but don't worry! Stendhal will still have his nose because he didn't get too far from the encounter before Kawahira snagged him. 
> 
> This will not be the last of the talk between them because despite the quick fix it by Kawahira via Mist Flame, there would be a lot of things to unload and hash out between them. 
> 
> In case you didn't read the first author note at the top, I will be busy for some time in the future so next update will be later. But don't worry, I still intend to continue on with this fic. You guys put me on a roll, right alongside my two other enablers, bonesetblues and lulubelle. Those two are my main enablers and I added them as co authors so that the whole world would know how much of a filthy enablers they are.
> 
> Go read bonesetblues' Of Green Eyes and Skies! It is a great BNHA X KHR crossover fic!!
> 
> Anyway, see you guys in next chapter!
> 
> Yoru_Lun out~~~


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsuna need to stop jinxing himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I said the update would be way later but I got too stressed with assignment that I began stress writing a new chapter. This was born so I decided to share it with all of you~

Apparently proving his resolve to Akaguro-san meant working with him.

Not working on Akaguro-san’s illegal vigilante activity mind you but at Kawahira Diner.

Kawahira had told something to his Rain to make the man stay and Tsuna was both worried and glad for it. Worried because he never knew with Kawahira and glad because he wouldn’t have to be separated from his newly Bonded Element so soon.

But the thing was, Akaguro-san never worked in a kitchen before and it shows.

Despite being able to wield that sword of his expertly, the man was a bumbling fool with a kitchen knife. Tsuna had lost count on how many time he had averted small disaster thanks to his own Intuition warning him about the mess that was about to happen. He tried to be patient with trying to teach the man how to cook but there was only so much he could stand.

It was not until Akaguro-san had set fire to water that Tsuna decided enough was enough and kicked him out of the kitchen before he can burn the whole place down. So Akaguro-san was relegated to taking order duty at the front, which he surprisingly excelled at.

Being a vigilante doesn’t mean he doesn’t have tact and the man who wore the mask of Stendhal was different than the one without it. Akaguro-san was actually a pleasant man to work with when he was not raving about the Fake Hero in today’s society.

As for Tsuna, it was a relief to have his burden be cut in half. At least with Akaguro-san around now, he doesn’t have to go back and forth from the kitchen to the front of the diner. Now he can focus solely on making food that his patrons can enjoy to their heart content.

Some of their regulars had inquired about the new addition to the staff, more curios than anything that Kawahira had finally agreed to hire a new face to help ease Tsuna’s burden. Akaguro-san held his ground well against their prodding, spinning a tale on how he was a struggling university student who just so happen to meet Tsuna one day and was offered the job soon enough.

Most of them took him for his words though Yagi-san had eyed Akaguro-san with subtle suspicion. Tsuna had fervently hoped that the man didn’t know of his Rain’s alternate personality because that would be hard explaining to a national hero on why he have a wanted vigilante working for him.

At least Akaguro-san didn’t know of Yagi-san’s own secret identity though.

Tsuna really doesn’t want for the vigilante to end up gushing over the poor man because like any other people in this world, Akaguro-san was no exception in holding strong admiration for All Might. If the way Akaguro-san kept going on about how All Might was the only True Hero was anything to go by, Tsuna didn’t doubt that the man would die from joy whenever Yagi-san decided to drop by as All Might.

All Might’s appearance in his shop began to rise in frequency after the incident involving the sand Quirk villain and Tsuna was already having a hard time curbing Hero Chasers from making a scene in his shop. If this goes on, the list of people banned from Kawahira Diner would only increase in number if All Might decided to make it his favourite joint.

While Tsuna understands the guilt the man hold over what had happened in the park, that doesn’t mean Yagi-san have to force himself to come over as All Might to appease Tsuna. He knew the man already have a limited time on how long he can hold onto his Hero persona, there was no need for him to waste away his precious hours in order to gain Tsuna’s already given forgiveness.

Besides, it was Yagi-san who he worried for, not his image of All Might.

Despite constantly infusing the Sun Flame into every meal that he made for the man, Yagi-san only showed minimal improvement in his health. No matter how much the blonde assured him the coughing out blood part was normal to him, it shouldn’t be in the first place. There was no need for the skeleton of a man to live the rest of his life in constant pain.

Short of revealing himself with his Sun Flame, the only other way he can think about in order to help Yagi-san was teaching the man how to create his lost organs like how Chrome did for herself. But that would mean he also have to reveal a part of himself to the national Hero too.

He wasn’t quite sure yet if he can trust Yagi-san with the truth of it. With Akaguro-san it was not a hard choice to make since the Bond would ensure that Akaguro-san would never try to actively seek to harm in any way and it helped that Kawahira had revealed it to the man himself.

And Kawahira didn’t so much as blink when Tsuna asked him about Yagi-san. He merely confirmed the suspicion Tsuna have on what Yagi-san’s role in all of this and nothing more after that. Tsuna was already tearing his hair out in frustration at how difficult the Mist was being.

So he turned to Nezu-san for some advice because if there was anyone who would know how to deal with a situation that involved the national icon, then it would be the principal of U.A High. A dangerous look crossed over the mammal’s eyes when he told him the events that led up to All Might showing at the diner and Tsuna have a feeling that he may had made the situation worse for Yagi-san.

Nezu-san had advised that he keep on with his impromptu healing of Yagi-san because from what he had gathered from Recovery Girl, All Might’s main physician, the number one Hero showed signs of improvement after consuming the food made by Tsuna. Nezu-san didn’t say it but he had dropped hints about Recovery Girl wanting to meet him herself.

Tsuna knew he should be seeing her as soon as he can because Nezu himself had voiced his concern over Tsuna’s medical health. No matter what the media tried to portray dimension travel as, there were true concern for Tsuna. He was not only dropped into a whole different universe, but also one where from his point of view, a broken and mutated one.

So of course the vaccines used in this world would be different than his own world in order to cover the ground where Quirk got involved. He not only have to get shots in order to protect himself from any potential illness he may contract but for the sake of this people’s world. Tsuna may not know it but the simple illness of flu may be deadly for these people.

Therefore, Tsuna should be making an appointment with Recovery Girl or any medical personal to get all those needed shots and test to ascertain that he would not be harmed nor harm other since day one.

But what would he tell them?

There was no way Kawahira’s fake documents can hold under their scrutiny when they asked his reason on why he never got any of those shots in the first place. They would look into his background and their critical eyes will find discrepancies in it along with his own. Tsuna was not confident enough he would be able to churn out a convincing cover story if asked.

So it either Nezu-san himself explain the story to Recovery Girl or Tsuna tell her a boldfaced lie.

But that would be a problem he would think of later because Tsuna had just jinxed himself yet again when All Might ducked under the indigo flap with his usual blinding grin on his face.

“Young Sawada! I am happy to see you well!” The blonde greeted as boisterously as ever and Tsuna smiled at him genially. This was an encounter he didn’t expect to happen so soon. He had been hoping to put it off for another month or two but it just have to be barely a week into his new Bond with Akaguro-san.

A glance to the side confirmed his deduction because Akaguro-san stood there with his jaw hanging open.

“All Might-san, it’s good to see you again.” Tsuna reciprocate his greeting with a quarter of his enthusiasm because he doubted he would even match half of All Might’s exuberance.

“I see that you have a new friend, what is your name young man?” Tsuna watched with mild amusement when Akaguro-san stuttered over being addressed so directly by the number one Hero. For all of his talking about being a vigilante who will change society, Akaguro-san was still an admirer of All Might and no fan would be able to keep their composure when faced with their idol for the first time.

“Akaguro Chizome, sir All Might-sama.”

Tsuna internally coo over the stumble of tongue and the bright blush that set the Rain’s face aflame. Was it weird that he found his Rain, an adult who just happened to be a criminal, adorable? How can he not be amused at the free show when it was usually him who was put in that spot?

It was a fresh breath of air and Tsuna thinks he will like this new pace.

But he think he should cut some slack off Akaguro-san because the man looked like he would spontaneously combust from sheer fanaticism alone when All Might patted him on the back. He should save his Rain from the number one Hero even if the show was entertaining to him.

“Now, enough of bullying my co-worker, All Might-san. What would you have today?” Tsuna stepped in, steering a dazed Akaguro-san to the nearest stool because the man looked like he needed to sit down before he collapse.

All Might at least has the decency to be sheepish at being called out for his action, unlike a certain other Mist he could name **. “Rude, Tsuna-kun.”** Kawahira’s voice in his head was quickly shushed and shoved away. The blonde slipped onto his regular stool, closer to the kitchen and slightly more secluded from the rest of the shop. It took Tsuna forever to convince Kawahira to put up a shroud over this corner. The shroud helps avert people’s eyes away from this particular spot, having their gaze just slide by it without even picking up on the person who sits there.

This corner became a fast favourite spot for any Hero that dropped by for a good meal or two. They liked the relative privacy it gave them so that they could enjoy their meal in peace without being hounded by zealous fans. Of course they doesn’t know of the shroud or Kawahira’s ability in creating it. They all just assumed it was Tsuna’s strict handling of the diner that made people not dare to go against him, which was partially true.

“Surprise me as usual young Sawada. Your cooking is always fantastic that I am sure anything you made would taste wonderful!” Tsuna couldn’t help but preen at the high praise because no matter how much he said he didn’t care for the All Might persona of Yagi-san, the man was still a national icon and to have his skill be praised as such gave him a boost of pride. It also reminded him just how much greater of a cook his mother was because everything he knew about cooking comes from her. It was his way of honouring his memories of her and it helped ease his longing for her warmth filled food. The phantom touch of her hands guiding his own as he cooked always helped to sooth the homesickness that threatened to choke him.

So Tsuna decided to serve All Might with his mother’s recipes, taking great joy when the man praised it in between each bite as he prepared other table’s orders. They kept up a soft conversation between them, talking about this and that while Tsuna carefully make sure he didn’t touch any topic that he had spoken with Yagi-san.

There was no need to make the poor man worry over his busted secret after all. However the same couldn’t be said for All Might. It was careless of All Might to be so familiar with Tsuna too when he already did as Yagi-san. It made the man drop his own guard too much around Tsuna and he could only wonder how Yagi-san haven’t outed himself yet.

The man was bad at keeping an alternate persona because Tsuna had lost count on how many time he had caught All Might wearing the same clothes as Yagi-san, only it was fit for his beefed up form instead of hanging like sacks on Yagi-san’s skeleton form.

It was a miracle that no one managed to piece anything yet.

Throughout the conversation, Akaguro-san kept on hovering close, either silently fawning over All Might or keeping a sharp eye on Tsuna. It was obvious the vigilante was trying to make sense on where All Might fit in all this because how can a supposed to be normal cook like him managed to, dare he say, befriend the national icon?

After the reveal of Flame and Tsuna’s role in all of it, Akaguro-san had kept close eyes on people that Tsuna so much as talked longer than what was appropriate to customer. Yagi-san made into the list and so does some other Heroes that had dropped by to dine. Tsuna has the suspicion he was either compiling a hit list or trying to build up the whole picture. Either was plausible but he was teetering more toward the first one because Kawahira did say newly founded Bond tend to be protective and possessive as the Bond settles.

When All Might finally left with a couple of takeaways in hand, his Rain didn’t waste much time in cornering him in the back room. Tsuna was expecting this so he didn’t protest when Akaguro-san dragged him away by the arm.

“So, All Might.” His voice still held the suspension of disbelief and Tsuna can only shrug his shoulder helplessly. It was not his fault that All Might was somehow involved in the whole universe crisis. If anything, it was Kawahira’s fault since it was his fuck up that give birth to all these mess.

“He dropped by sometimes but I will warn you, don’t disturb him or any of the Heroes that comes by. I know you don’t like them but I would like my shop be free of blood and gore. It would be unsanitary if you got blood on the utensils.” Tsuna met his eyes with warning clear in his eyes. He will not back away because food was the one thing he would not compromise over. People should be able to enjoy their meal in peace, not be on a look out for a vigilante who took it upon himself to purge the so called Fake Heroes.

Akaguro-san looked positively mulish over the warning but he didn’t challenge Tsuna on it.

Yet.

His intuition told him another confrontation over this would be happening soon in the future.

“Fake heroes they may be because of the money they were paid with or the popularity they gained for their service, but what gave you the right to take them out? They’re serving the people are they not? Is that not heroic enough for you?” Tsuna paused because as someone who never grew up in this society, he don’t understand why Akaguro-san would have problem with Pro Hero.

Heroism in his own world would be an act where you put others first, even at your own peril and as someone who shows great courage and valour was referred to as a hero, their actions are considered to be acts of heroism. Heroism was not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.

But in this world, the label of Hero was also attached with Pro. Heroism was not a selfless act anymore, it became an occupation that got tied to the government. Pro Heroes were the servants of the laws, much like the policemen who uphold peace and order of society.

Though he could do without the children being groomed into child soldier. As much as Tsuna disliked its concept, this was the norm of this world and he has no right to judge it so harshly. Besides, he will not begrudge Nezu’s work.

So how can Akaguro-san take out people who were simply doing their job?

In the society where Hero was an occupation similar to policemen, how can Akaguro-san expect they uphold the chivalrous heroism traits of old?

What right do Akaguro-san have to dictate the fate of all the people he had attacked in his crusade against Pro Heroes?

It was hypocrisy at its finest from Akaguro-san while holding all these Pro Heroes at his unreasonably high standards, he himself didn’t bother to add up his own effort in trying to change the society for the better. All he did was litter the street with body and breeding fear amongst the people.

“Think about that and talk to me when you finally have reasonable answer.” With that he exited the room to return to the kitchen.

It was harsh of him but if Akaguro-san was going to hang around, he would rather snip away his murderous intention toward Pro Heroes early. He doesn’t need the unnecessary conflict in the future where Akaguro-san can’t see the people beyond the bias he has over Pro Hero.

As for Tsuna, he too need to own up to his scepticism toward Hero. Growing up without a hero to look up to would do that to a person and there was never a hero that would swoop in to save him from all the things he had faced. Tsuna never had a hero to save the day for him.

He only ever had himself.

It was only himself that he could rely on when it comes to overcoming the latest hardship that was thrown at him.

It was like how he now have Nezu-san to lean on. Tsuna never had an adult who would shoulder the burden for him and he doesn’t know to respond to that. In the case of the hero, it was almost like that too.

What need of a hero do Tsuna has when he already got used to saving himself?

Why was he thrown into the world of Heroes and Villains?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of things going on in this chap too. Akaguro still trying to assimilate himself into a Tsuna's life and Yagi being suspicious of this new man who had been eyeing Tsuna weirdly since day one. So he just have to come by as All Might just to discern if he was a threat or not based on how Akaguro would react to the number one hero.
> 
> Tsuna was just so exhausted. Dealing with All Might on top of trying to make sure his Rain didn't murder every Pro Heroes that walked into his shop was a hard work. So he snapped at Akaguro, calling him out on his bullshit and prejudice.
> 
> Once again, Tsuna questioned why he was dumped into this particular world other than because of Kawahira's fuck up.
> 
> I am not that good with the philosophy of things, so don't expect any eloquent musing of heroism and such from me XD. 
> 
> Hope you like this new chapter~~~


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting by chance that ended up with Tsuna almost dying. Fate have no mercy on Tsuna's poor heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY WE ARE AT THIS POINT WHERE I AM SO EXCITED TO WRITE. LIKE THIS WAS ONE OF THAT PLOT THAT I AM SO VERY MUCH PROUD OF MYSELF THAT I BARELY CONTAINED IT.
> 
> NOW I CAN'T CONTAIN IT ANYMORE SO ENJOY

Things had gotten strained between him and Akaguro-san after that confrontation in the back room. The man stayed true to Tsuna’s order of not talking to him until he has acceptable answer to the thing Tsuna had pointed out to him but that didn’t stop the man from hovering close.

Whatever words that his Rain kept sealed behind his lips was amplified through his actions. He was not aggressive per se but he was being loud with his movement, applying more than necessary force in cleaning up the table.

Tsuna knew he shouldn’t put such strain onto the newly developed Bond but how can he keep his silence to things like that? Even with his own bloodthirsty Guardians like Mukuro and Kyoya, Tsuna still went against his own instinctive fear of them to voice out his disagreement toward their method of violence. Even against the future version of Varia, Tsuna didn’t allow for them to do further harm to Kikyo, an obvious enemy, even when they won the war against Byakuran.

He never kept silent about unnecessary violence, so why should he allow leeway to Akaguro-san? He didn’t expect for the man to change overnight but if he can make the man think about his actions, then Tsuna will not allow this to go on anymore.

But that doesn’t mean the result of that confrontation didn’t weigh heavy on him. His own Flame never stopped reaching out to the man, wanting to tangle itself in the soothing blue of the Rain but Tsuna hold it back as much as he can.

If Akaguro-san was willing to hold his distance with Tsuna, then Tsuna has to hold his end of it.

The air was thick with tension and Tsuna doesn’t think he was ready for yet another breakdown. He barely pulled himself together again from his previous one and he really doesn’t want to bother Nezu-san if he do ended up losing it again. Kawahira would definitely drag Nezu-san over to calm Tsuna down if that happened.

So he flee.

Tsuna made an excuse of restocking before hastily removing himself from the shop.

He allowed for his Intuition to lead him, following each bend and twist of the road with absent mind. He didn’t realise where he was heading to until the rambunctious sound of childish laughter reached his ears.

The park.

Of course his Intuition would bring him here.

For some reason, seeing the children play always managed to sooth at his high strung nerve. Perhaps it reminded him of Lambo, I-pin and Fuuta, the kids that he had come to think as his own little siblings. Any reminder of them always brought forth feeling of bittersweet, swelling his heart with fondness and longing for them.

Besides, their raucous joy was the same in every world, oblivious to the problems of the world that weighed heavy on adults’ mind as they played with each other. Even during the trip to the future, Lambo and I-pin never stopped being a kid, loud and lively, filling the empty halls of the base with their laughter.

Children was amazing in their coping with changes and Tsuna envied them for that. He envied the kids for a lot of thing, mostly for their freedom and their innocence toward life.

His old life, while not as laughter filled before Reborn, was peaceful.

Sure there was a couple of bullies to face daily or Kyoya if he were to incur his wrath somehow but his life had been peaceful. There was no cursed baby assassin forcing him to train both his body and mind in order to become something he doesn’t want to be. There was no general craziness that often popped just because Reborn thought he was getting docile nor were there any cosmic mess that he have to clean up.

He was that, just a normal kid in a sleepy town like Namimori.

He doesn’t have anything defining about him, other than the crazy mess he called hair and short stature.

He was so normal to the point where the trait that stood out about him was his uselessness.

So when did his life had become so messed up that now, at fifteen years of age, he had went to the future to save it, faced off against ancient beings in order to maintain the stability of the world and now, he was thrown into a whole another world just to save it too.

He never got to be a child.

Not with how Timoteo had Sealed him and later on with Reborn’s arrival.

Tsuna was only fifteen and he already felt so exhausted to his core.

He had scars no one his ages would have, lines and fractures in his bones from battles that was never supposed to be his in the first place.

So yeah, Tsuna envied children but he doesn’t miss being one because he never got to be one.

Yet he enjoyed watching them play as they enjoyed life to the fullest, how their childish glee made the weight of the world he carried felt less heavy.

He was brought here for them.

To save this world before it ran out of its borrowed time. Sure he doesn’t know how he would do it but seeing these children just be themselves reminded him of why he has to do it. Tsuna has to go through with this so that all of them would be able to grow up to be more than old enough to see their own grandkids.

It may be presumptuous of him to think such but what other conclusion was he supposed to make when this world’s Kawahira was not being forthcoming with details and the void of the world was trying to suck him dry?

The prod from his Intuition had him turning his gaze from the group of children playing to a more secluded corner of the park.

A group of kids was crowding around something, being loud as usual but what threw him off was the cruel jeering words they thrown around so easily. It was a sadly familiar sight, having experienced it himself and Tsuna doesn’t even have to guess what they were doing as he walked toward their huddle.

Even in a supposedly heroic entrenched society like this world’s didn’t stray away from bullying. The strong dominate the weak and those who didn’t fit the mould of the society was ostracised to the point where they turned to crime for reprieve. D

Don’t even get him started on what happened to those who was Quirkless.

During the early stage of his life (never as a child, he was never one to begin with), Tsuna had wished for a hero, someone to step in make all the pain stop, to chase away his bullies as he cowered from them but none did and looked at how he had turned into.

In the darkness of his own room as he tried to sleep off the pain of that day’s beating, Tsuna had made a vow to himself. He vowed that once he was an adult or had become brave enough, he would never allow bullying to go on if he can do anything to stop it.

He knew the pain of being pushed down to the ground, of the bruised ribs he had slept on and the blood he tried to hide from his mother. Not just from the physical one, but also from the emotional one that would beat at one’s very soul and the dark whisper of his lack of worth to people in his life.

So he would do anything to help any kid from that pain.

If he could make it stop for at least one kid, that would be enough for him.

“Hey! What are you kids doing?!” A loud bark of his voice was enough to send those kids scampering, running away before they could even see that Tsuna was barely tall enough to tower over them.

Sky Flame was a gift that kept on giving because lacing it in his voice allowed him to get his points across without people so much as blinking at it. It was not quite like the Mist Flame’s compel but it does give them a nudge to their consciousness to follow it. It was more effective if the recipient was caught off guard by it.

As the kids fled the scene, Tsuna turned his focus on the huddled figure on the ground. His heart breaks a little to see the bruises and scuffmarks on the boy and the shock of purple hair immediately made him think about Skull. This situation eerily reminded him of the times where Tsuna would do the same for the Cloud Arcobaleno.

Tsuna knelt by the kid but made sure he was not close enough to get into the boy’s bubble. He knew how it felt like to have to have an unwanted stranger breaching through his comfort zone after one of such beating. It made him feel all the more resentful of himself, to let a total stranger see his pain.

“Hey, you okay there?” His voice was soft as he telegraphed his movement as slowly as he could, letting the boy see that he was not here to cause him further harm.

Again, he was reminded of Skull when deep purple eyes met his own. It was not only the colouring that reminded Tsuna of the Cloud Arcobaleno, it was the familiar wild look in his eyes that Skull sometime got whenever Tsuna managed to get either Reborn or Collonello off of him. It was the look of disbelief, as if the person couldn’t believe there would be anyone to make the pain stop and Tsuna’s heart ached for both of them.

He never experienced it, so he couldn’t relate with them but he was glad that he was able to put that look in their eyes even if he was against the reason why there was even a need for that look to be there in the first place.

At least the pain stopped for them.

The boy looked shocked and the blood seeping from the cut on his brow was slightly worrisome. It make Tsuna worry if the boy may had gotten a concussion from a careless blow to the head. Receiving any form of response now would help ease his worry somewhat.

“It’s okay now, because I am here.” So he resorted to a bad imitation of All Might’s catchphrase and he couldn’t quite fit the blinding grin on his face but it made the boy snort with dubious laughter that dissolved into a fit of hysteric giggle.

It was obvious that it was from the combination of shock and being caught off guard by random event but it helped to assure Tsuna that the boy was at least coherent enough to rule out concussion even if he felt it would be best to bring him to the nearest clinic or hospital.

“You’re bad at it. You’re supposed to say ‘why’ too and your intonation was awful.” The boy said in between the giggle that was tapering off and Tsuna felt he likes hearing it, so he decided to repeat the catchphrase again.

“It’s okay now. Why? Because I am here.”

This time, it sent the boy off into genuine fit of laughter that have him shedding happy tears because instead of limiting himself to badly accented voice, Tsuna decided to imitate All Might’s signature pose with his non-existent muscle. He didn’t doubt that he looked ridiculous right now, flexing to a battered boy on the ground but if he got the boy laughing like this, then he would gladly do so again.

So he did, each attempt far worse than the last and the boy was laughing so much that he was gasping from breath. Tsuna joined him in the laughter because there was only so much he could keep a straight face when faced with such a funny situation.

What a sight they made, both sitting on the ground while laughing their asses off but Tsuna doesn’t mind it one bit.

“Anyway, my name is Tsuna. What about you?” Tsuna offered him his hand, smiling widely as he too wiped away the happy tears that leaked from their impromptu laughter session.

“Shinso Hitoshi.” Even with the split lips, the boy’s shy smile was infectious as he shook Tsuna’s hand tentatively.

“Well then Hitoshi-kun, can I call you that?” At the boy’s nod, Tsuna proceed more cheerily. “I don’t know about you but I am getting a bit hungry. I own a diner down the street. What says you if we get some lunch as we get you patched up? Don’t worry you can call your parents from there.”

Tsuna was quick to assure him when the boy’s gaze turned suspicious but didn’t hold his hope up because it would be understandable if the boy refused him out of suspicion alone. It would be the expected choice for him, healthy even.

What kid would believe the word of a stranger?

But the boy surprised him when he agreed to it after mulling over it for some time. Huh. Perhaps they had bonded over Tsuna making ridiculous imitation of the number one hero?

“That’s great! So up you go!” Tsuna offered his hands to the boy again but this time, it was to pull him up to his feet. He was quick to steady the boy when he wobbled and the instinctive flinch of the boy’s reaction didn’t escape his notice. Oh how familiar was that to Tsuna.

Tsuna doesn’t want to cross his boundary but the boy looked like he was barely standing on his legs. So he offered. “Are you okay to walk or do you want a piggyback?”

The boy looked him up and down with doubt and Tsuna felt slightly offended to receive it. Excuse you, he was strong despite looking as petite as he was. Go ask any of his current friends and allies. He can beat them all the way through Sunday and back again if he want to.

“Hey I am strong despite looking like this. I could even lift you with my pinkie.”

He was exaggerating of course but would it be possible if he were to add his Flame to it? That would need some experimentation later on. Perhaps Kawahira would be willing to help. Kawahira was non-flammable after all if the idea ended up being a bad one.

“I very much doubt that.” Snorted Hitoshi, rolling his eyes at Tsuna. Such sass from someone so small!

“One day, you will regret that word, kid.”

Hitoshi merely gazed back at him with a look that Tsuna knew was questioning his level of sanity and maturity. Ouch, this kid was not playing around.

“So a piggyback or not?” The change of conversation was not smooth at all if the unimpressed look he got from the purple haired boy was anything to go by.

“If you can manage it somehow.” Oh the nerve of this boy! Challenge accepted!

Tsuna knelt down again to let the boy get onto his back and climbed back again with ease. Thanks to Reborn’s hellish training, Hitoshi felt as light as a feather to him.

“Are you even eating at all? You weighed nothing to me.” He couldn’t resist poking fun at the boy though.

“I do! Papa made my favourite pancake this morning!”

That began a whole new argument over which flavour of pancake was the best. Tsuna stood firm on blueberry being the best while Hitoshi was dead set on double chocolate chip being the best. It soon derailed over whether or not you should eat the narutomaki in kitsune udon first or save it for the last bite.

Their argument were childish and full of nonsense, most of it over food and everyday life but Tsuna found that he enjoyed this very much. Hitoshi may only be a couple of years younger than him with his eleven years of age but he was still the closest person to Tsuna’s age that he knew of.

Everyone that he knew ever since arriving in this world was either an adult or an ancient being as old as the Earth itself.

So Tsuna can say he missed talking with someone his age too.

His daily talk with some of the regular can only do so much to ease his longing and thanks to Kawahira’s illusion, most of them saw him as early twenties instead of the fifteen years old he was supposed to be. Kawahira reasoned that he doesn’t want to be impeached with child labour warrant if anyone were to ask why someone Tsuna’s age was working instead of being in school. Nezu-san had been constantly fighting with him on that since day one but so far it was a tie.

Besides, Tsuna felt like he was not ready yet to go back to school. Even with working at the diner, he still haven’t gotten used to large crowd and school would be filled with it. Besides, all those Quirks being packed up in one place would be too loud for his senses. He would be too overwhelmed by it to even function.

But that doesn’t mean he was exempted from schooling.

Nezu-san had taken it onto himself to personally teach Tsuna the syllabus, setting him with an online course where Tsuna can finish with his middle school. Nezu-san’s offer of attending U.A still hung in the air.

It was something Tsuna had been thinking over in his free time.

U.A was one of the prestigious high school in Japan. In fact, it was the most prestigious one on this side of the country. It was also a hero school.

So it was of no surprise when Hitoshi admitted to wanting to join the lauded Hero Course of that school. Every kid his age wished to get into it because managing to do so would pave a way for them to one day become a hero themselves.

Yet the uncertain whisper about his Quirk had Tsuna zeroing on it. It was not hard for him to figure out that Hitoshi’s Quirk was the crux of his issues and the bullying.

Brainwashing can be called a villainous Quirk but Quirk was only that, a power. Sure power can corrupt but it was never inherently evil. It was up to the wielder how they would use it. Whether they used it for good or evil, it was their decision to pave their own path with it.

Tsuna told Hitoshi this and didn’t say anything about the droplets that pearled over the wooden counter of the diner. He instead bustled around the kitchen, cooking up Hitoshi’s favourite food as revealed during their little argument on the way back to the diner.

People, especially kids, needed to be told that they are good, that they meant something and that they are worth it with or without a special quality to define them. Growing up without that made Tsuna acutely aware of how important such thing was to a child’s development and if he could help sooth at Hitoshi’s worry with his words and action, he would do it every day until the boy believed him.

Once Tsuna was sure the boy’s stomach was full and he was all patched up, he reminded Hitoshi about calling his parents and the boy did so frantically. He left him on the phone with his parents, fervently assuring whomever on the other line. Tsuna quickly tune it out when he heard the boy telling his parent that they don’t need to hide anyone’s body.

Yep.

He was so not touching that.

Not his problem at all and he didn’t hear anything at all.

Even if the boy had a villain parent, Tsuna still stands with his point where Hitoshi was not evil just because his Quirk was perceived as one and that too extend to a child. No child should be burdened with their parents’ sin and Tsuna will not fault him for being born to a villain.

But from the way the boy was talking about them, Hitoshi’s parents were at least loving of him and cared very much for him. Enough for the supposedly villain parents to allow him to keep his dream of one day becoming a Hero.

That Tsuna can at least respect.

Good parents were hard to come by, even in his own world and if Hitoshi has a loving family back home, Tsuna will not be the one to separate him from it even if he suspected them to be villain.

So when he opened the door to the persistent banging of an undoubtedly worried parent, his heart nearly stopped.

Because standing in front of him was the adult version of Skull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DID YOU EXPECT THAT???? SHINSOU HITOSHI IS SKULL'S KID!! GUESS WHO'S THE OTHER PARENT IS!!! I GUESS THE PAIRING WOULD BE OBVIOUS AT THIS POINT IF YOU ARE A KHR FAN FROM THE OLD AGE OF BEFORE (I feel ancient now XD)
> 
> So I think it was high time I bring in someone closer to Tsuna's age into this. As much as I wanted to integrate adults into his life, he still need his peers to help develop a healthy person and after much mulling (more like falling into my crack temptation) I decided for Hitoshi and didn't want to stop at that. So have Hitoshi being Skull's kid and a certain other someone as the other set of parent XD.
> 
> BESIDES THAT! I NEED MY TSUNA-NII FILL! BIG BROTHER TSUNA IS MY FAVOURITE OF THE TROPE AND NONE OF YOU ARE GONNA TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME! SUFFER THIS MUSHY ANGSTY FLUFF WITH ME!
> 
> So yeah, Izuku and the gang is 11-12 during this to Tsuna's 15. About 4 years, SO ENOUGH TO CALL TSUNA WITH TSUNA-NII (FIGHT ME PEOPLE)
> 
> About Akaguro and Tsuna, don't worry there will be resolution to their first argument. Just wanted to bide my time and make Akaguro think it over as I torture Tsuna through a Cloudy mess (I am so sorry my son, but at least you got a new baby brother)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsuna learnt to differentiate people and the universe really needed to stop giving Tsuna heart attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The previous chapter had so many people banging on my door demanding answers and I will answer some of it in this. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE COMMENTS AND SUPPORT!!!

“Skull?!” Tsuna sputtered out before he could stop himself because Kawahira never did explicitly told him the Arcobaleno was still around or any of his friends’ parallel self.

To be fair Tsuna didn’t bother to ask in order to save himself from possible heartbreak but he didn’t expect to one day see a familiar face amidst the sea of unfamiliar one in a whole other world. Sure the face looked far more aged, being one of an adult’s instead of the teenage it had been last he saw it but it was not hard for him to see Skull in it.

So choked up with his turmoil of emotion, Tsuna missed the way the man’s eyes narrowed with suspicion before an amiable smile quickly smothered it.

“My name is Satoshi actually, Shinsou Satoshi at your service.” The man, Skull–Satoshi-san, offered his hand good-naturedly and Tsuna accepted it more out of reflex than conscious decision.

“Sawada Tsunayoshi.” He was still dazed with shock when the man finally released it after giving Tsuna’s hand a firm shake.

“So I was told you had my son with you. I hope that little brat didn’t cause you much trouble.” Joked Satoshi-san and before Tsuna could assure him that Hitoshi was a delight to have, a tiny voice quickly grew in volume to rebuke him.

“Papa! I am a good boy and you knows it too!” The much younger purple haired boy made himself known by stomping over toward where both Tsuna and his father was standing at the door.

Tsuna watched as Satoshi-san knelt down and was entranced by the soft look that settled over his face when Hitoshi threw himself into his arms. He had never seen that particular expression before on Skull’s face and it was almost like an enlightenment to now see it softening the man’s face as he cradled his son close.

Son.

Tsuna’s mind stuttered to a halt at that reminder because here he was, watching whom he assumed as this world’s Skull hug a boy that was his son. His brain cannot compute this sudden information and he was left staring at them in daze.

Last Tsuna had seen Skull, the Cloud Arcobaleno was still growing back to his original age like the rest of his fellow Arcobaleno and he had been as big as Hitoshi currently was thanks to Verde’s ingenious invention that allowed for them to grow at a rapid speed.

Now Skull stood before him as a man, looming over Tsuna easily since it was not ever hard to begin with but he still surpassed the average height to stand roughly at 6’3 feet tall. His hair was as wild as ever and now that he can see him side by side with Hitoshi, his hair was darker in purple while Hitoshi’s was lighter and leaning more to indigo.

What looked different than the Skull he knows was the teardrop tattoo being on the right side instead of left and the lip piercing was nowhere to be found, just a jagged scar in its place. That threw Tsuna off and indirectly helped him differentiate this man from the Cloud Arcobaleno that he knew, alongside the apparent age difference.

Though it was the eyes that truly drove the difference home because instead of the deep hue of amethyst from his strong Cloud Flame, his eyes were more bluish under the diner’s warm lighting.

Of course the man’s eyes wouldn’t be the purple of the Cloud roaring in his core. Nothing about this world was the same like Tsuna’s, so why should the familiar sight of Cloud Flame burning in Skull’s eyes would remain when the world was sucking whatever Flame it could?

Tsuna will be needing all the differences in order to split both of them or any of the alternate selves of the people he knew because he doesn’t think he would be able to keep his sanity when the person who wore the familiar face of a friend was not in fact the very same friend he longed for.

At the back of his mind, he was both glad and disappointed by it. Glad because at least it allowed for him to focus more on Satoshi-san instead of the reminder that was Skull staring back at him and disappointed because well…he had been hoping there would at least one person he knew in this world.

Now he got his wish for a familiar face, only it was not the person who he knew.

This man was not Skull despite what the evidences pointed him as and Tsuna was conflicted by it.

“Papa what did you do to make Tsuna-nii cry?!” Hitoshi’s loud demand had Tsuna realising that he was indeed crying. He quickly wiped the tears away because why in the world did he even shed tears in the first place?

Sure he was disappointed that it was the Skull he knows but why does he felt lonelier than before meeting him?

“I did no such thing brat. Perhaps he was just moved by my handsomeness.” Satoshi-san quick-witted reply had Tsuna snorting out a giggle that he was quick to muffle behind his hand as he tried to dry up the tears that come unbidden.

No.

This was not the time for Tsuna to mull over it.

No matter how much he missed the people from his world, it wouldn’t be fair if he kept comparing them with their alternate selves when Tsuna could be getting the chance to know them.

Push the turmoil aside and lock it for later review. That had always been his coping method when it comes to facing sudden curve balls being thrown at him.

“He’s not wrong there Hitoshi-kun but I am crying because you looked so adorable right now.”

Satoshi-san’s eyes met his over Hitoshi’s mess of a hair and Tsuna smiled at him helplessly. What a weird first impression he must have made to the man for first sputtering out a different name and now crying in front of him. Tsuna can already feel his cheeks warming up in embarrassment.

“Anyway, would you like to dine in, Satoshi-san? I already fed Hitoshi-kun here and won’t mind doing the same for you.” From the dubious look on Satoshi-san’s face, he was not being convincing enough and Tsuna can see now from where Hitoshi got it from. It was uncanny how their frown would scrunch up so similarly.

Besides, it was about time he prepared to open the diner for the day after all. Having a head start with the father and son duo was merely a plus if you asks him.

“You should Papa! Tsuna-nii’s cooking is so good. He made way better hamburger steak than Maddy!” The high praise had Tsuna flushing in delight because having his cooking be praised never ceased to make him proud.

“I try, Hitoshi-kun.” Tsuna demurred out of natural reflex than anything else.

“Well if my little helium here say it’s good, who am I to deny him?” Satoshi-san stands up with Hitoshi in his arms and Tsuna guided him over to the counter as he himself took his place in the kitchen across it. “So what would you recommend me having, Tsuna-kun?”

Tsuna will be honest, it felt weird to have this version of Skull call him so familiarly when before it was only Sawada when it comes to the rest of the Arcobaleno but it was a small change that he can get used to. While it helped to differentiate the alternate selves with those from his own world, it also helped separate him from the name Sawada.

He doesn’t quite dislike the name per se but he does not hold any fond memory of it too. Sawada was after all merely a synonym for Vongola in the Cosa Nostra. Tsuna never wished to be involved with mafia in the first place and being linked back to Vongola always left a bitter taste in his mouth, even if it was only through his surname alone.

If his mother hadn’t been so tight-lipped about her own maiden name, Tsuna would have taken up her name rather than having one that belonged to an absentee father whom was never around to begin with. He would honour his mother by bearing her name than one that was so entrenched in crime and blood.

Tsuna had once thought that if he ever got married, he would take up his spouse’s surname out of spite alone. Let the Vongola feel it to have its name end with Iemitsu.

So to have nearly everyone in this world call him just by his given name was like a fresh change he can get used to. Here, he was merely Tsuna, a boy who worked at a diner, not someone who was groomed to inherit a bloody throne built on the skeletons of those who dared to oppose it. Sure he still have the fate of the world hanging on his shoulder but he wouldn’t be condemned to live a life he doesn’t want.

“That depends on your preference actually. Can you hold your spice or do you have any allergy that I should be aware of?” It was standard procedure that he had made sure to drill into Akaguro-san too because he will not make any food that would cause harm to his patrons.

Satoshi-san seemed to mull over it as both he and Hitoshi looked over the menu. Hitoshi kept on pointing at the one that caught his eyes and Satoshi-san indulged him with a soft smile. It was a surprisingly domestic scene and Tsuna found it very much endearing.

“Spice is definitely my blood at this point and I think some spicy Chankonabe would be a good way to start the evening!”

The choice was a surprise since people rarely ever chosen that one due to its large portion and Tsuna only kept it on the menu for his more bigger proportioned customers like the Pro Hero Fat Gum. But knowing Flame users, they tend to burn it all at a faster rate when compared to normal people.

However, this brings up the question if the rest of the Arcobaleno remained as natural Flame users or the mutated Quirk people. He will have to ask Kawahira later.

“Coming right up but I’ll have to warn you, it is very big in portion.” His warning was met with a grin.

“I can handle it! I can stuff away a lot more than what this body may make you think!”

Tsuna choses to not argue with him on that and turned his focus on Hitoshi instead. “Well what about you, Hitoshi-kun? Up for some dessert now that your dad is here to dry up his wallet?” His teasing had Hitoshi laughing because that particular topic had been something they were going over before Satoshi-san’s arrival.

Hitoshi had been adamant in refusing Tsuna’s offer for dessert because he said he has no money to pay for it and he refused to owe Tsuna anything despite Tsuna assuring him it was his treat. Even with the lunch, it was a hard won battle from Tsuna’s part and he only won it because Hitoshi’s stomach decided to make its hunger known.

So they had come up with a compromise where Hitoshi will get dessert once his father came for him.

“Hey, I am still a working adults who have bills to pay and your Maddy wouldn’t be so happy if I bring you back high on sugar.” Satoshi-san’s protest was weak at best and both Tsuna and Hitoshi burst out laughing.

“Come on Papa, I know you have a sweet tooth. You’ll love it, right, Tsuna-nii?”

“It would be delightful if you do like it.” Tsuna smoothly sidesteps from having to choose any side because he refuse to be involved in any family drama. He already have more than enough of it from the world he came from. His Intuition was being oddly silent on this part but before he can prod it for more info, Hitoshi pulled at his attention again.

“Then I want the peach tart, Tsuna-nii! With lots of cream!” The boy said in excitement, almost toppling himself from the high stool if it weren’t for Satoshi-san’s grounding hand on his back. “And I want hot chocolate with lots of marshmallow!” The hot chocolate was not on the menu but if he can keep the smile on Hitoshi’s face, he will gladly serve it to him from his own secret stash. He had also done the same previously too.

“Roger that!”

With that he left the two of them to start making their orders. He didn’t bother to keep an ear out on whatever they were talking about since it was not his place to eavesdrop on their conversation but from the way both father and son waving their hands around, it was a lively one.

He served Hitoshi with his tart first since he already made it the previous night, only needing to take it from the small cooler set at the side for dessert. The boy’s eyes light up at the sight of heavy dollop of cream that practically smothered the tart under it and Tsuna had taken the liberty to sprinkle it with some slices of fresh fruit and berries. The hot chocolate came with an accompanying bowl of more marshmallow for Hitoshi to munch on.

Satoshi-san looked amused at Tsuna’s obvious doting on his son but the man didn’t say anything to stop him, so Tsuna took it as the man’s permission to continue on with it.

The Chankonabe took some time to prepare, so he served Satoshi-san with a slice of his own tart when the man kept on stealing bites from his increasingly aggravated son. Better to diffuse the situation before it can escalate after all.

Before Tsuna knew it, he was somehow roped into their conversation, answering their enquiries the best he could. It didn’t escape his notice that Satoshi-san was basically interrogating him with the help of his oblivious son but Tsuna goes along with it because it was obvious to him the man was merely looking out for his son. This subtle interrogation was only the man’s way of screening Tsuna’s intention toward his son, an understandable move on his part.

It was a new experience to talk with Satoshi-san like this because despite the physical similarities with Skull, the man was more free while talking with Tsuna. With Skull, there was always the apprehension the Cloud Arcobaleno held toward Tsuna simply because he was Reborn’s student but with Satoshi-san, there was none of those wariness, just courteousness of newly acquaintance people.

“Bye Tsuna-nii!” Hitoshi waved at him from his perch on his father’s shoulder and Tsuna waved back at him with a smile of his own. “See you again, Hitoshi-kun, Satoshi-san!” He called out to them before they disappeared around the corner.

Now, with them gone, he turned his focus on Akaguro-san whom had been very quiet ever since he walked into the diner. Much like with All Might’s appearance, his Rain had taken to looking between him and Satoshi-san dubiously, expression increasingly more vexed than the last. Tsuna doesn’t know what his problem was but it obviously have something to do with Hitoshi’s father.

“So mind telling me why you had been staring at our customers like that?” Tsuna asked as he gathered up the used plates, brushing pass his Elements to get to the sink at the back.

Akaguro made a frustrated sound before throwing himself into the nearest tool, the sound of scraping wood echoing in the diner. “Fine I give up. You’re right.” The man grumbled, clearly unhappy about admitting it and while his reaction was endearing to Tsuna, he would need more context than that.

“A little bit more details would be helpful.” He urged the man.

Akaguro-san glared back at him mulishly and Tsuna countered it with a radiant smile that allowed no room for argument. The man groaned and pushed back his hair in frustration.

Huh.

What do you know?

Perhaps Tsuna is getting better at this.

“I said you’re right but that doesn’t mean I am willing to change my way yet. Not until they proved to me that they are worth it.”

Tsuna wanted to argue with him on that but he stopped himself because getting Akaguro-san to admit his wrong was a small victory on its own.

Small steps Tsuna.

He managed to make the vigilante admit his wrongdoing, what to say he can’t make the man change his way with more time? He wasn’t quite hopeful but he was grateful that the man was at least not against the idea of leaving behind his way.

Besides, he wanted for Akaguro-san to change based on his own doing. Otherwise it would all be for naught. Forcing his Rain to change his way would only be a short term solution and Tsuna doesn’t want that. He wanted for the man to realise it himself and not be dependent on Tsuna to be his moral compass.

Tsuna had already experienced it with many of his friends and allies and he doesn’t want the same to happen for his Rain.

He doesn’t want to be the reason behind a person’s survival.

“Okay. That’s good to know.” Tsuna relented, meeting his Rain’s eyes with a more genuine smile on his face. He was happy that they managed to achieve this much.

“But the next time that man came over, make sure to call me first.” The serious look in the red eyes had Tsuna pausing.

“Why?” Tsuna asked, more curious than he was willing to admit. What would make his Rain so on edge? Who was this alternate universe’s Skull that the man managed to make a dangerous vigilante like Stendhal be apprehensive of him?

“Because he’s Skull, Mammon’s executioner. He’s one of the most dangerous man in the Underworld.” Tsuna’s heart seized for the second time that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So lots of things going on in this too. TBH lots of things are going on in this fic and I barely knew which one to address first before my crack brain demand I reveal more of its crack idea to you guys.
> 
> But in this, AU Skull will be addressed as Satoshi to differentiate him from our beloved canon Skull but that doesn't mean I am chucking him away mind you. In this, Skull is an alias that Satoshi used in the underground. He is actually Skull Crusher because well, he crushed skulls. Satoshi meant wise and because I am bad with names and I can't quite match Horikoshi-sensei punny naming custom, I just go for safe bet, so have Shinsou Satoshi, proud father of Shinsou Hitoshi. 
> 
> And I basically confirmed who the other parent is, it's Viper. Hitoshi called them Maddy (Mama and Daddy) because Viper is either gender fluid/non binary. I am not focusing much on that. Like Satoshi, they were known as Mammon in the underworld and worked as information broker. Skull and Mammon are a feared pair. You guys have a name suggestion for them?
> 
> AND I NEED BETTER NAME FOR THIS FIC! IT'S TOO LONG. Drop any suggestion you have.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chizome mull over his life choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So last two chapters had y'all out for my blood with me basically throwing away curve balls at all of you. I hope this will help to douse out some of the bloodlust. Spare me otherwise I can't die in peace with how my crack brain kept on bugging me with all of its idea.

Chizome liked to think his life was simple.

Sure he was a hero student drop out that now moonlighted as a vigilante who cleaned up the street from thrashes like those villains who should have known better than to use their Quirks for crime. It was a familiar territory to him, simply donning a mask and strapping his blades to his person as he hunts down the criminals in the darkness of the night.

But all of that took a sudden turn to the left when he encountered the greatest vigilante ever.

The man had gifted him with a new insight, an enlightenment that opened his eyes to what was truly wrong with this society. It was never the villains that was the root of the problem, it was those Pro Heroes who dared to don the title of Heroes and call themselves such when their actions were merely for their own gain.

How dare they call themselves heroes when it was only the wealth and popularity they chased after?

Knuckleduster’s gift was something that made sense to Chizome.

If the Pro Heroes was never around with their violent fame seeking way, would the villains pop up to fight against their oppression? When balancing both, Chizome decided that those false heroes was the true evil in the society and he had taken it upon himself to purge them out.

Let this world be cleansed from those fake heroes until the only one left were one like All Might. Only true heroes like All Might deserves to be called Hero and Chizome will see to that.

But life has another way of surprising him yet again when he found himself dumped into a whole other mess that was larger than the life he used to know.

He at first was hard-pressed to believe the word of boy who looked like he was barely into his teenage years because how was he supposed to believe that there were magical fires that were beyond the bound of Quirks?

The explanation was not enough to make him understand the urge he suddenly felt toward the boy. It was nothing sexual mind you because Chizome would rather gut himself first than allowing himself to feel such thing toward a minor. He was not as twisted as the criminals he hunted after all.

The new urge to be close to the boy was bewildering to him because Chizome never viewed himself as a touchy feeling kind of person nor was he touch starved. He couldn’t make sense of this urge he suddenly felt toward a complete stranger and it was unnerving the heck out of him to let someone have this amount of influence over him.

Yet as he watched the boy argued with principal of U.A, information suddenly flooded his mind. Bits and pieces of memories that flashed over his eyes rapidly, some of it more faster than the last. It was not until he was coherent enough to make sense of the sudden influx of information did he understand that it was the boy’s memories.

The boy, Sawada Tsunayoshi, lived a life that was completely different than this world’s, one where Quirk doesn’t exist at all and there was no such thing as Pro Hero industry.

It looked like a utopia to Chizome.

A world where only true hero thrived in.

But it all went downhill for the boy after the arrival of gun totting baby.

Chizome had a front row seat to all the hardship the boy faced, all the pain and struggle the boy went through in order to live yet another day. Even in the world of Quirk, the rigorous training to become a Pro Hero, a _child soldier_ , only started when they were at the age of 15 but for this boy, his training began when he was merely 13, barely even out of his elementary school.

He watched as this _child_ was forced to face adults who were far beyond him both in age and power, fighting over a bloody legacy that he never wanted just because his friends’ survival depended on it.

The trip to the future was nothing short of a dystopian nightmare to watch and when comparing it to his own world, Chizome felt like they had lucked out from this fate. At least in this world, the most prominent villain was backed back a powerful Quirk that can be brought down by All Might. Nothing can defeat All Might after all and the other world doesn’t have someone like him.

They needed to drag a literal child from the past to face an enemy that was bolstered with the knowledge and strength from multiple parallel world. Chizome will have to ask for further details on that because the memories doesn’t do much when it comes to explaining things to him and the concept of parallel world was still something he struggled to understand.

Chizome watched the memories of a boy who came from a utopian world without Pro Heroes but still fought battles far worse than any of the Pro Heroes could claim to face.

What truly had Chizome’s teeth set on edge was the fight that the boy had with a powerful illusionist and how his bones were broken to smithereens. He knew the boy survived it seeing as he now sat before him but that doesn’t make seeing it any less chilling.

This care he felt over the boy was something new even to him. Chizome never felt this emotion of actually caring for a person’s wellbeing because he never had someone special to do so in the first place. But now, his chest warmed up with all sort of emotions he felt toward this kid.

From worry over the injuries he sustained to pride at every hardship that he managed to surpass.

Chizome may only knew this boy for a couple of hours but after seeing the lifetime of memories, he felt like he had known the boy for a long time. He had witnessed the boy’s growth from being a bumbling kid that cowered away from any conflict to someone who stood strong in the eye of the storm.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was someone who knew just how cruel the world can be yet he still came out strong with an unwavering heart that never lost its compassion. The boy didn’t allow his innate kindness become his weakness. He somehow managed to turn it into his strength as he rallied all his past enemies to fight on his side, showing them the wide expense of his heart that they returned in kind.

It was mystifying to see how the boy managed to get through his opponents’ heart and seize it to make them see his way.

Now he understand why the boy was a Sky, he was all encompassing, sheltering all those that comes under his domain yet never shackling them down to him.

And Chizome was now a part of his orbit, circling around him without conscious thought. As an orphan, he never knew the warmth of a home but if there ever anything to describe how it felt, it was when he was with the boy.

Being around the boy felt like coming home.

But having a home doesn’t mean it was all good and dandy.

In his attempt to try and get to know the boy better as himself rather than pieces of memories, he had stepped on countless hidden landmines that had both of them arguing.

It was frustrating to have his ideology and belief called out like that, especially by a kid Tsuna’s age but then he was reminded once again about the boy’s struggle and the world he came from. Chizome had to remind himself again and again that the boy will not understand from where his issues with the Pro Heroes came from but that doesn’t make it any less vexing.

So he heed the boy’s order of not talking to him until he comes up with a reasonable answer to his question. During it, Chizome had mulled over what he knew and the reason that started him on this path he had chosen for himself.

He wanted for heroism to be only that, selfless actions done by people who put the need and safety of other people first than doing it out of personal gain. So to make sure that happen, he donned the mask of Stendhal and cleaned the criminals off the streets to set example on how it was done. He did it all for the sake of keeping the mass safe through his method because the Pro Heroes would merely give them a slap on the wrist before letting them off with warning.

Stendhal will chop off that wrist so that it would do no further harm to society.

His fateful encounter with Knuckleduster had opened his eyes to what he really have to do to stop the vicious cycle of crime and justice from going on. Merely offing the criminals was not enough because crime will always spring back with vengeance if the root of it wasn’t cut off. So he decided right then and there that he will purge out the root of evil in the society, he will hunt down all the fake heroes that brought about this issue in the first place.

Stain was born from the ashes of his Stendhal days that crashed and burned from its contact with Knuckleduster but before he could rise to fulfil his new enlightenment, he was dumped into this whole mess.

Chizome thought he already have his life set, that he will make society change through his method but life itself decided that he have the purpose of standing by this boy’s side. He doesn’t know what his future will entail because neither the boy nor his guardian had explained yet what the boy’s purpose in this world.

What was happening that the universe decided to drag a kid away from his own world and what will Chizome’s role be in all of this?

Why should Chizome change his way because of it?

It was an endless flow of thought that had him thinking for days and he didn’t realise how far he had distanced himself from the boy despite the pull toward him until he stepped into the dinner and saw one of the most dangerous person in the Underworld sitting at the counter, chatting avidly with the boy.

As if his own Quirk was activated against him, his blood froze in its veins and the unsettling feeling of fear coiled in the pit of his stomach. It was not the fear for himself because Chizome knew he can protect himself againt Skull but the fear was for the boy who was oblivious that he was talking to someone who could easily crush him to pulp without so much as blinking.

The sensation was odd and new because like the care he felt for the boy, this emotion of being fearful for someone else’s sake was also something he never felt before. Worry wormed its way into his heart as he carefully made his way to boy, all the time keeping his eyes on the purple haired man because only fools would let Skull Crusher out of their sight.

Along the way, the piercing eyes of the Executioner followed his every move.

It was the first time Chizome had been this close to the man. He only ever saw him from the distance and the carnage he was capable of unleashing without even moving from his spot. The flash of multiple tendrils extending from the man’s back will forever haunt his dream because he had seen how each of it was capable to cave in someone’s skull, thus the name Skull Crusher.

As Mammon’s guard dog, Skull was not someone to be trifled with because the information broker was known to mercilessly rob someone blind if they so much as implied Skull as a mere mindless brute and Skull will bath the ground red if someone dared to even make a move against Mammon. It was a partnership that terrorised even the Underground society and no one dared to go against either of them for fear of the other.

Attacking both was short of suicidal.

So Chizome was understandably wary of the man.

What business do the man have here and why was talking so amicably with his Sky?

Was this a hit on the boy?

Chizome sidled close to his Sky’s side and put a hand over his nape to give it a short squeeze so that he can reassure himself the pulse was there and the warmth of his skin was still present. He stayed vigilant as he hovered close, being not so subtle in his attempt to keep himself between his Sky and the dangerous man.

It was not until the man left that he finally registered the fact that Skull had a child with him and Chizome felt as if he was sacked in the face at that particular realisation.

Skull Crusher had a child with him.

Skull Crusher had a child.

Skull Crusher procreated.

Chizome felt faint thinking about it and he now knew he was on borrowed time after knowing this big of a secret. Both Skull and Mammon will no doubt hunt him down soon enough to tie the loose end and that made his realise the same will happen to his Sky too.

His Sky will be in danger simply because he now knew of a secret he never sought in the first place.

Now he stood at an impasse on which he should choose. He can simply book it out of here to save himself because Chizome knew he can evade them better on his own but where would that leave the boy? Even if the boy doesn’t know of Skull’s real identity as Mammon’s Executioner, his simple association with Chizome ensured that he will be marked as a person of interest. He didn’t doubt that Skull recognised who he was because the man’s partner was the best information broker after all and Mammon knowing him as Stendhal wouldn’t be a surprise.

Even if he managed to evade the pair long enough to change the society, what then? What would be left for him after that? Chizome doesn’t dream of his name being remembered nor would he want to be revered for bringing about a revolution because that would make him no better than the fake heroes he loathed so much but what more would he have left after his crusade finally draw to an end?

While his fate was still uncertain if he choose to stay here with the boy, would he be willing to leave behind the home that finally found? Even with the few days on his stay there, Chizome felt more comfortable in his skin than he ever did before and he found that he liked the potential the boy hold.

As a person, the boy’s quality far outshined the so called Pro Heroes and almost rivalling All Might in his strength and vibrancy but Chizome had only ever seen the boy wield the strength he had for the sake of others.

A small part of Chizome yearned for the stability and safety that the boy offered so readily. He never thought about settling down and putting down root before but if he chooses this, make the decision to stay by the boy’s side, would it be better?

But what of the rest of the world? Can he be so selfish as putting his own happiness first over changing this convoluted society?

Chizome have no answer for it yet but looking at this boy before him, after knowing about all the struggle he went through and the loss he experienced, would Chizome be willing to condemn such a shining jewel in the rough for the world that again and again, refused to change?

He thought back about Skull and how the man would no doubt return to tie loose ends, Chizome couldn’t bear the thought of losing the boy to that. His feeling of wanderlust to change the society was small in comparison to the dread he felt over the absence of the boy.

Perhaps if he stayed, he will be able to fend off Skull and repay the life debt he have to the boy for saving his life.

Yeah, he will settle with that for now. He will have more time to think it over the longer he stay by the boy’s side.

Until he finally decide on which meant more to him, Chizome will stay here and keep the boy safe from Skull Crusher.

So yeah, he likes to think his life was simple.

It will be simple if he took one thing at a time and now he will focus on protecting the boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby steps toward rehabilitating Chizome into being good member of Tsuna's family. He doesn't need to be good member of the society, he just need to pick up his slack be a partial responsible adult who Tsuna can perhaps lean on instead of him depending on Tsuna to be his morality compass.
> 
> This chapter was mostly from Chizome's perspective of this series and how the society was to him. It will not be the last of him mussing and having talk with Tsuna because they will talk it out like responsible people.
> 
> Small sneak peak on Skull and Mammon's backstory!
> 
> Hope y'all like this messy thought process! I tried really hard to understand his perspective but at the same time tried not to make him too OOC with all his mussing


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toshinori also needed a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just watched Endgame and I am still in the down low right now. This chapter was almost done so I decided to put this up before I disappear for some weeks of mourning. I am sorry but my emotions are just so messed up after that movie.
> 
> Since previous chapter was an introspection from Chizome's part, I think one from Toshinori was long overdue. This was supposed to be the original chapter 3 but I took a sudden turn to the left and went with Dumpster Man, as in our man Stendhal.
> 
> Edit : I FORGOT THAT WE ACHIEVED 10K WITH THIS FIC!!! AJFJSDFHJFU THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL THE SUPPORTS THAT Y'ALL HAD BEEN GIVING ME!!!  
> Enjoy!

Toshinori knew he must have ousted himself somehow because he was pretty sure Sawada was onto him. Onto what you may ask?

His secret identity as All Might.

It all began when he got the notice about the hostage situation in the park nearby. He was on the way downtown to Kawahira’s Diner, hoping for yet another delicious and fulfilling meal but he could not just leave an innocent civilian in harm just for that.

So he took a turn, following the coordinate given in the alert system and very nearly had a heart attack when he saw who the hostage was. Sawada looked calm despite the situation he was in but it was obvious how much the lack of air was beginning to affect him.

Toshinori can’t leave this be, not with how the other Heroes only stood there, gawking like some greenhorn instead of trained Heroes they were supposed to be. It was rare for Toshinori to feel anger toward his fellow Heroes but at that moment, he felt almost blinded by it.

How could these people call themselves Heroes and not try anything to save the distress civilian? How could they stand around doing nothing as Sawada suffocate?

Something in him, the self that he had hidden under the carefully crafted image he had painstakingly built after the death of his mentor raged against the audacity of these people.

**_~~How dare they let his Sky be harmed?~~ _ **

The words was a tangled mess in his rage fuelled mind and Toshinori didn’t even stop to think the extent of his own power as he punched. All he could see was Sawada suffocating, the life being choked out of him.

No.

He can’t have that.

He already lost too much to allow another person slip through his fingers.

He can’t lose Sawada too. **_~~Not his Sky~~_**

So with a howl of thunder, Toshinori unleashed his fury upon the villain that dared to touch Sawada.

It was not until he saw the brunette be thrown away by his attack did Toshinori stopped to think what he had done.

His heart dropped into his stomach when the young man hit the swing set headfirst and cold dread filled the void when Sawada dropped to the ground gracelessly.

There was no attempt to break his fall.

Sawada just fell like a doll with its string severed.

Toshinori stood there, hand still clenched into tight fist, the same fist he used to harm Sawada and his mind blanked out.

There was only buzzing in his head, a jumbled mess of incorrigible words that was barely strung together to form sentences.

The pounding in his ear deafened him to the sound of other Heroes rushing forward toward Sawada’s prone form, checking on him for injuries. **_~~HE LOOKED LIFELESS, HEAD LOLLED AGAINST THE CHEST OF THE HERO CRADLING HIM.~~_**

**_~~THERE WAS BLOOD~~ _ **

**_~~BLOOD HE SPILT~~ _ **

**_~~HE HARMED SAWADA~~ _ **

**_~~HE HARMED HIS SKY~~ _ **

**_WHAT HAVE HE DONE?_ **

Toshinori didn’t come out of it until Naomasa stepped into his line of vision, blocking the sight of where Sawada had lied crumpled. The worry evident on his face as he patted Toshinori’s still balled fist, slowly uncurling the fingers one by one.

“Everything is alright now, Toshi. The boy is alright.” Naomasa’s voice was soothing, it always was during moments like this. The pat on his chest was an ingrained order for him to start breathing and Toshinori followed it.

Inhale. Hold. One. Two. Three. Exhale.

Repeat.

Slowly, Toshinori came back to himself, the haze in his mind clearing away to let him take in his surroundings. There were police tape everywhere, Naomasa’s men sweeping up the remains of the villain, not leaving any grain of sand behind in case the villain could reform from it. Other than them, there were no one else around.

No one but Naomasa to see the tears dripping down his face.

His best friend didn’t say anything else as Toshinori leaned his forehead against his shoulder, lending his shoulder for him to cry on. It was always like this, Toshinori crying on Naomasa’s shoulder after some mishap in his duty as a Hero.

It used to be the two of them against the world of crime and now, it was still the two of them. Other than Gran Torino, Naomasa was the closest thing he have as family and today, he had harmed someone who he had come to care dearly.

“Come on big guy. Let’s go see him.” The dark haired man pulled on his hand, guiding Toshinori toward his car and it was not until he was seated in it that he had realised the time had ran out and he popped back to his skeletal form.

“Nao…”

“Don’t Toshi. It was a simple mistake and the boy is fine now. They called in Recovery Girl just in case.”

While calling in Recovery Girl would either be the worst case scenario or an over kill, Toshinori couldn’t help but feel relieved to hear that Sawada was in good hands. He would receive the best care there was and as All Might’s personal physician, Recovery Girl knew the extent of his power well enough to treat any injury caused by it.

That was good.

He noticed his best friend’s furtive glances but Toshinori doesn’t know what to say.

It was simple.

He fucked up.

He allowed his anger get the best of him.

Now Sawada was in the hospital and under the tender care of Recovery Girl.

Despite Naomasa’s assurance, Toshinori still worried if he had caused any extensive injury to the young man.

The trip to the hospital was a quiet one, the silence being filled by the occasional buzzing of the police radio, reporting about some minor villain attack. The cruiser pulled at the hospital parking lot and it was easy enough for Naomasa to weasel a visiting right for the two of them.

His nose tingled at the scent of chemical in the air, fighting against the rising memories of months being spent cooped up in a well secured hospital as he recovered from his battle with All For One. It was not a pleasant time for him and he still struggled with the repercussion of it in his daily life.

“Good day, Yagi-san.” The cool voice halted him in his steps and Toshinori met the shrewd gaze of Kawahira wearily.

“Kawahira-san…” He trailed off in his greeting, not knowing what to say to the man who was essentially Sawada’s guardian.

Toshinori doesn’t know the extent of the relationship between Sawada and Kawahira but he knew for sure it was beyond a simple employer and employee one. The camaraderie and obvious familiarity between them hinted to years of acquaintanceship and the fond look that the silver haired man often throw at Sawada was genuine if Toshinori have to admit.

(He would be blind to not see the care and adoration reflected in it)

The man was genial most of the time Toshinori came over to dine at the diner and often time forgot he was even there in the first place but he had also seen the fierce protectiveness the man have over Sawada.

Toshinori had been around the corner when he saw Kawahira, in a feat of surprising strength, bodily threw out the customer that had been harassing Sawada for some time. Toshinori had contemplated about doing it himself whenever the customer had made lewd and unwanted approach toward Sawada but it looked like he was beaten to the punch.

He doesn’t know what happened after that, having been called away by the emergency notification via the pager but he would never forget the look in his eyes.

Kawahira’s face was his usual deceptively calm mask but even from where he was standing, Toshinori could see the fury reflected in his dark eyes. It brought shivers down his spine because gone were the man who poked harmless fun toward Sawada, in his place was a man who was ready to take on the world and knew he would succeed.

Thinking back about it, Kawahira have the exact same look right now and Toshinori watched the man with cautious eyes.

“I heard about Sawada from the news. I came as soon as I can.” He felt the unexplainable need to explain himself but he can’t say more without outing his secrets to Kawahira. Though a small voice at the back of his head whispered how the man already pieced things together. **_Kawahira knew_**. But Toshinori quickly quelled that thought.

Dark eyes narrowed behind the glasses and Kawahira’s gaze pierced through him. Silent fury simmering within its depth. “That was awfully fast of you.” Drawled the man.

“I was around the neighbourhood.”

“I am sure. Though I wonder why the nurses allowed you through.”

Before Toshinori could dig a deeper grave for himself, Naomasa stepped in, swiftly taking Kawahira’s scrutiny onto himself.

“I am Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa.” Introduced Naomasa. “I was called in for Sawada-kun’s hostage situation and Toshi happened to be with me while it happened. I thought it would be better to bring him here before he could worry himself sick over Sawada-kun. I apologise. I didn’t intend to infringe upon your authority over the boy.”

Smooth.

Damn Naomasa sure knew how to sweet talk when he put his mind to it. Toshinori was more used to be subjected to his unique brand of sass and teasing than this. So it was a bit jarring to hear him talk in such manner.

“Kawahira. It is a pleasure to meet you detective.” Kawahira smiled, all sharp edges.

“Likewise.” Naomasa returned the smile with one of his own. It was a frightening sight to see the same genial smile mirrored by the two of them. If Gran Torino decided to show himself here, Toshinori’s already faint heart would not be able to handle the terrifying combination of it all.

Clearing his throat before the two of them could go further in their telepathic showdown of disarming smile, Toshinori almost regretted it when the two piercing gaze locked onto him instead of each other.

Yep.

He shouldn’t do that again in the future.

Not if he want to live long enough to find a successor.

“How is young Sawada?”

Kawahira seemed to mull over it, judging if Toshinori deserved to know or not but the man seemed to come to a decision after staring straight into Toshinori’s eyes in what felt like a decade.

“He is fine. I was told they brought in a Pro Hero with a healing Quirk. I am sure they would patch him together soon enough after the tumble he had.”

Toshinori winced at the underlying accusation. It may be his guilt talking, but Toshinori still felt like Kawahira was blaming his alter ego, All Might. He wouldn’t hold it against the man because it would be so easy to blame the cause of it when a loved one was harmed.

“Can I see him, please?” Again he was stabbed by Kawahira’s piercing gaze but Toshinori held strong under it. This was the least he could do for causing all this.

“Very well,” Kawahira sighed, as if he was doing them a favour by agreeing, which he probably was if Toshinori was willing to admit. “You may see him but if you so much as made him uncomfortable, I’ll not be held accountable for throwing you out.” The subtle threat hung in the air but Toshinori didn’t say anything to counter it when Kawahira finally allowed them through the door.

When his eyes landed on the figure of another Kawahira who sat by Sawada’s bed, he was not surprised by it. Toshinori had been mulling over the man’s Quirk since day one and from all the minor details he had gathered so far, it was versatile and multifaceted Quirk. Toshinori had seen Kawahira use his Quirk freely but since it was done on his own private property, Toshinori decided to let him be instead of calling him out for it.

At first he had thought it was a version of Creation Quirk like the Yaoyorozu family but he had seen Kawahira bleed himself into the surrounding, making peoples’ eyes slide over him and create small miniatures to amuse himself with. His creation ranged from a simple rod to sophisticated machine, all of it done at young Sawada’s behest.

It was no simple creation and more to a complex illusion that were solid to touch yet fluid in the eyes. Such a powerful Quirk would have easily landed him with any high authority seat but much like young Sawada who also have a versatile and multifaceted Quirk, the man choses to own a small diner that was local’s favourite instead of making a place for himself in the world.

But he was not here to mull over Kawahira’s Quirk, he was here to see how Sawada was fairing and hopefully, ease some of the guilt churning in his heart.

The young man was awake and perhaps it was his guilt talking or the stress of the day finally catching up to him, but to his eyes, Sawada looked younger swaddled in the blanket as he was. Sawada’s youthful face had always looked young due to some of the baby fat that still stubbornly clung to it but right now, it looked more pronounced.

He looked like a child instead of the twenty something young man and the sight of the white bandage on his head sent a pang of guilt through him. Combining both image was not something that Toshinori ever wanted to see again and he made a silent vow to himself that he would never repeat the same mistake.

He was gifted with the unparalleled strength of One For All and he should have known the extent of his own power better. This incident should have not happen if he hadn’t lost himself to rage. Gran Torino had always cautioned him to not be so impulsive as to let his anger get the best of him and it was not until then did he truly understand why.

He will have to do better in controlling whatever left of his declining strength. If not for himself then for others like Sawada whom was brought to harm due to his own misconduct.

 

* * *

 

 

“This is honestly one of your stupider idea Toshi.” Naomasa’s dubious tone would have been hurtful if Toshinori himself didn’t agree with what he said.

To be fair, it was a stupid idea full of risk but how can he simply let things be and not try to make amend? Sure he can just smother Sawada as his civilian identity but that felt too cheap even to him and Sawada deserves better than lies and deceits.

So against his best friend’s advice to cease and desist his plan, Toshinori had dropped by the diner in his All Might form, bearing gifts that he hoped would help convey his regret over what had happened.

Young Sawada didn’t so much as bat an eye at the sight of his All Might form and the young man looked more longsuffering than anything. Toshinori had thought he made the wrong decision in coming here as All Might but Sawada never ceased to amaze him by holding onto his obviously fraying nerve to paste on a genial smile and served All Might like he would any other of his other customer.

It was a mystifying experience to be treated like any one person while maintaining this form and Toshinori readily admit that he had forgotten how it felt to be treated as a person rather than the Symbol of Peace. Here, with Sawada, he was merely All Might, a customer and not an icon to be fawned over.

One visit became another and that didn’t even count the how many time he dropped by as simply Yagi Toshinori. Toshinori had been so swept away by it all that he didn’t realise just how careless he had gotten around Sawada. He was so comfortable to be around the young man that he had let down most of his guard whenever he was with him.

It was pure miracle that Sawada hadn’t pieced things together yet.

Even with Naomasa, it took barely a day for the man to figure out his secrets and he spent most of days at the diner either as All Might or as himself. The first clue that Toshinori realised that Sawada was perhaps onto his secret was the food the brunette served him with.

Much like as Yagi-san, Toshinori had often asked for Sawada to surprise him as All Might too because the food was always delicious no matter what and it was always new combination each time.

That was a big mistake on his part because young Sawada never served the same food twice either to Yagi-san or All Might and it wasn’t long for Toshinori to realise all of the food that Sawada served him as All Might followed his special dietary plan to a T.

When he told this to Naomasa, his best friend simply said “I told you so,” and chugged the pitch black concoction he called coffee. Toshinori had a suspicion it was some dark magic elixir because Naomasa seemed to only live on that thing.

So now the situation brought to his current predicament where he was internally freaking out over the possibility of Sawada already figuring out his secret. The young man was scarily perspective on a good day and a small part of Toshinori would not be surprised if the brunette already had it all figured out.

He had gone over it in his head, wondering if he should bring it up with Sawada but that would also risk him outing the very secret he had been trying to keep if Sawada didn’t piece things together yet. Jumping into conclusion that Yagi Toshinori was All Might would have been too far of a jump for any logical conclusion after all.

Thus he was left fumbling over it.

The months of acquaintanceship now bordered on dare he say, friendship, and Toshinori really doesn’t want to ruin what he had with the brunette. Even if Sawada hadn’t figured anything yet, it had been a long time Toshinori ever had a place where he can simply be himself in either form. There was no expectations when he was with Sawada and it was a fresh breath of air that Toshinori would hate to lose.

So it was a bit of jealousy that drove him to basically interrogate the new employee. Toshinori didn’t know what came over him but when he saw the new face in the diner, the feeling of possessiveness welled up in the pit of his stomach and rose up to choke him in the throat. Like the anger he felt all those months ago, the ugly feeling blinded him and it was not until Sawada called him out about it that he snapped himself away from the trance.

Toshinori felt ashamed that he had used his All Might image against someone who was obviously a fan. All Might was supposed to be the Symbol of Justice and here he was using it for something as petty as being possessive over someone who he didn’t have any claim over other than simply being the customer of.

It was obvious that Sawada disapprove of his action and for some reason, the brunette’s disapproval struck a chord in Toshinori. It almost felt like that time he made Nana disappointed in him.

And it was not something that he wanted to go through again.

“Well what you did was uncalled for after all. If I don’t know you any better, I would’ve arrested you for creeping on a minor.” Naomasa’s word had him pausing in his track, a small mercy to the carpet that he was slowly wearing a hole into from his constant pacing

“What minor? Sawada is a young man in his twenties.” This earned him a deadpan look from the detective.

“The boy is in his teen, Toshi. Heck he looked more like twelve than fifteen.”

“Are we still talking about the same person? Because last I checked Sawada Tsunayoshi was a university graduate who was in his twenties.”

“And I have access to the country’s data.” Naomasa pointedly reminded him, which was fair. “I already checked Toshi and until one year ago, there was no Sawada Tsunayoshi in the system.”

That shouldn’t be possible because Sawada doesn’t looked like someone who would lie but Naomasa would never lie to him too and Toshinori wouldn’t discredit the years of their friendship by calling the lie detector a liar.

So this left him with the only answer that Sawada was telling him lies all along.

“At first I didn’t realise it but my Quirk was always buzzing when I handled his case two months ago. I went to Recovery Girl for his medical information to compile the report for that incident and that’s when I saw her notes on some of the past injuries he sustained.” Naomasa paused, a dark look passing over his face as he placed down a file on the table. It was rather thick with multiple coloured partition in between and Toshinori can only feel dread on what it implied. 

“Her exact word was ‘How in the world this kid got so many scars’ and I thought it was merely her speaking from her seniority in age but when she repeatedly stated that Sawada was a teenager and you saying he was a young man in his twenties, there was obviously something off there. So I looked him up and found discrepancies in his data. I did some digging and found that it was only put up there about a year ago.”

Silence fell over the office and Toshinori doesn’t know how to react to this. His first thought was the bitter taste of betrayal, at being lied to and the safe place that he found was merely an illusion but he refuse to believe that the kind smiles and warmth were fake.

Had he been fooled all along?

“I am sorry Toshi.”

“I need to think.”

Toshinori stood up and went for the door but it opened before he even reached it. In came Nezu with his ever present unreadable look on his face.

“Sit down Yagi-kun, I believe there was a talk that was long overdue.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am laying down the basis on how Tsuna's relationship with Kawahira looked like to an outsider and I think it went unsaid that Toshi is very much terrified of the combination Kawahira and Naomasa.
> 
> It is about time that someone picked up on Tsuna's age and I have reasons as to why Naomasa was the one who detected it first. It shall be elaborated in future chapter.
> 
> Since I made Toshi a Mist, the uncanny jealousy he felt was due to that and he subconsciously felt the Bond between Tsuna and Chizome. More to be expanded upon in future chapter!!
> 
> Edit : I forgot to say that this chapter also laid down the basis of future event that happened in canon BNHA universe. Like Toshi's vow to better and not let his anger overcome his control over his strength. Thus during the Sludge incident, he knew to grasp the victim first before blowing the villain to kingdom come. The event in chapter 2 and this chapter set precedent on how Tsuna's presence subtly influence Toshi's decision making over the years to come.
> 
> Hope you guys liked this chapter because I am gonna go dust myself in my misery after what Endgame caused me.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some explanations were given and Toshi need to stop being dumb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, some explanations will be given in this chapter! AND WE'RE AT 11K!! AJAKFHAFKA
> 
> YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME!!!

Toshinori don’t know what to expect when the principal of UA high school stepped into Naomasa’s office, obviously having heard the supposedly private conversation between him and his best friend. The breach in privacy was rankling but Nezu had answers to the questions that now permeated Toshinori’s mind after the unexpected reveal he had today.

He should have known better by now that nothing in his life came without a price and young Sawada’s soothing presence was merely a guise for a secret that Nezu was in with.

For a moment, Toshinori wondered what sort of big secret that required for Sawada to basically hide his real age behind an illusion and needing someone with such a powerful Quirk like Kawahira by his side. His mind went back to their first meeting and he couldn’t help but be reminded of the warmth that he felt at that time.

Does it have something to do with that?

Sawada was not very forthcoming about his Quirk no matter how much Toshinori tried to subtly needle the answer out of him but the boy was always so smooth in changing the flow of the conversation that Toshinori didn’t realise he was talking about himself more than he ever get information from the brunette.

Toshinori never pushed the young man–no, boy– to answer his question because he really didn’t want to cross his bound with him but now it looked like he should have.

Was it something so powerful that it required for the boy to basically hide in the open?

Was he under a witness protection programme?

Was that why there was the need for so much secrecy?

Toshinori vehemently tried to hold onto hope that there were good reasons behind the lies he was fed but he only came up with more doubt and question the more he pondered over it. It was not until now that he realised just how little he knew about young Sawada despite being so comfortable around him.

Had he been so lonely and desperate for a companion that he was blinded to the scheme going on in front of his eyes?

“I am aware you have questions regarding Tsuna-kun.” Nezu began and the familiar way the mammal addressed the boy didn’t go unnoticed to both him and Naomasa.

He knew of the principal but not on a personal level.

The mammal had been instated as the principal of UA long after Toshinori had graduated from the establishment and they had only ever crossed path during major crisis that required the principal’s expertise in strategizing the best outcome. The principal was probably the most stringent in upholding professionalism and keeping his distance from others, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear him address someone so familiarly. This goes to say just how deep into this secrecy Nezu was.

“Before we start. I want to know how you predicted that I would be telling this to Toshi today and be around to do the explaining.” Naomasa asked, eyes narrowed at the principal who sat across the coffee table.

Nezu hummed, his paw rubbing his chin in a mockery of a thinking pose. “Well I did set up his data as a trap after all.” That particular reveal had Toshinori bristling but Naomasa placed a hand over his arm to stop him from rising up to that bait, both literally and figuratively.

“Why the need for something like that?”

“As a lure of course!” The cheerful reply threw him off and Toshinori was left stumped.

“Why?” He can only demand because he doesn’t have the necessary information needed to construct a more cohesive question to the mess he called emotions.

“I knew it was about time someone like you would come digging into Tsuna-kun’s past, so I set up his profile to notify me if it was accessed. I was honestly not surprised that it was you who did it first, detective.”

Nezu sipped on the tea that he whipped out from somewhere but Toshinori was busy going over what the mammal had said. It wasn’t much but at least it told him the secrecy was not all done by Sawada himself. At least he now has proof that the lies were for a valid reason because Nezu was a trusted person who would never do things without a reason.

Then that mean Sawada was indeed under a protection program if he was hidden in such plain sight.

But it does bring the question of from what?

“It goes unsaid that there are more to that young boy than what you know of and before you accuse him of anything, it was done by myself and another person in order to keep him safe.” Nezu paused, as if mulling over his next point before deciding to continue on with it.

“You may know that person as Checkerface.”

The name drop had Toshinori sitting up straight because other than All For One, Checkerface was also one of the most prominent figure in the Underworld and even his own mentor had been more wary of the man than she did with their archenemy All For One.

There was not much known about the man other than the gaudy checker mask that earned him the name and the immense influence he has. If All For One was unrivalled in his might and power to physically smite someone, then Checkerface has all the influence he needed to virtually make someone disappear from the face of the earth without any trace left behind to remember them by.

Even memories of them could not be relied on in remembering those who had been whisked away by Checkerface because the man has the ability to tamper with it.

So why was Sawada involved with someone like Checkerface?

What big of a threat that he needed to be kept safe by Checkerface?

Was Sawada somehow involved in something he shouldn’t?

Or was he the son of someone important?

“Is Sawada-kun in serious danger right now?” Naomasa’s question was a valid one and Toshinori watched as emotions flashed over the beady eyes of the white furred mammal.

“For now, he is safe where he is. Kawahira would let the world burn first before any harm can befall Tsuna-kun.” It was not hard for Toshinori to imagine it happening because he had seen the minimal extent of the bespectacled man’s power and he could only wonder what more he has up his sleeves.

“However, previously Tsuna-kun was not in the kind of place a child should have been…” Nezu trailed off and it was obvious the mammal was deliberating over the information he should reveal and looking at the direction this conversation was going, Toshinori could not blame him. The mammal was after all responsible for the life of a boy and anything he chooses to reveal has the risk of jeopardising the safety of the boy who he kept hidden.

“His home life was not something you would call ideal and other than myself, the boy had no one to turn to when his bloody heritage came knocking.”

His heart seized at what Nezu’s words implied because try as he might to wish it was only his hyper vigilance from years of heroism, Toshinori hadn’t missed the subtle hints Sawada’s language revealed to him. Despite his amicable personality while hosting his patrons, the boy was skittish most of the time, wary in a way that only someone who was so accustomed to watching behind their back could be.

Toshinori had told himself it was only him seeing too much into it but now with what Nezu had told him, his suspicion had proofs to stand on and what an ugly picture it painted. He should have known there was more to the boy’s aversion of physical contact and all those time Sawada had shied away from Toshinori’s freely given affection now hold more meaning to it.

The boy was so unaccustomed to friendly physical touch that he doesn’t know what to do upon receiving one.

It was a painful thought to think because it was obvious to him that Sawada was a sweet boy, kind and with a big heart of gold. He only had the misfortune of the harsh hand life had dealt him with, both literally and metaphorically it seemed.

“I am assuming the heritage you’re talking about is a crime syndicate. Since that would be the most logical conclusion to what you’re implying here, Principal.” Naomasa had taken out his notepad to start jotting things down and while Toshinori’s own paranoia felt the need to stop the man from leaving behind physical evidence of this talk, he trusted Naomasa to not let the information falls into a wrong hand.

Sawada’s safety will be in good hand when said hand belongs to his best friend.

Toshinori will have to believe that.

Because there was nothing Toshinori could do, either as himself or All Might. He could not offer his own protection to the boy without drawing an even bigger target on the boy than he already did by personally associating himself with Sawada.

It was a miracle enough that no media attention had fallen onto their interaction yet. The vultures usually hunted down anyone All Might so much as looked at and it would only be a matter of waiting when one of the other customers would spill about his frequent patronage of the dinner. They would come barging in for any crumbs of a possible scoop and with their presence, the eyes of the world would be directed at Sawada.

Toshinori’s inherent need to assuage his own guilt had indirectly put more risk onto Sawada’s safety and that would be something he has to fix soon. Not for the first time he was glad he never revealed his civilian identity to the world.

At least he still has his persona as Yagi-san to fall back on now instead of completely cutting off his involvement for the sake of the brunette’s safety.

“You’re correct, Detective. Tsuna-kun came from a long line of one but the boy refused the life of crime they were trying to force upon him.” Toshinori could only watch as something dark lurked in the depth of the beady eyes and he can feel it mirrored in his chest.

The Underworld would eat the boy alive.

Small as they may be now than what it was before the golden age of heroism, they were still persistent and now only the most powerful of it remained despite society’s best attempt to purge it out.

Toshinori could not imagine a sweet boy like Sawada surviving it. Oh he would live, the Underworld wouldn’t put effort into making him one of them if they doesn’t have long term plan for him but they would break him to the point there would be nothing left of the boy’s original self. They would tear him apart and remake him in their image, soaking his hands with red that he could not scrub away and shackle him down with sins that would drown him.

“They didn’t take the rejection well, did they?” Toshinori finally spoke up, verbally saying the one thing that had been on his mind.

“No, they didn’t.” Nezu looked down into the cooling tea in his hand, eyes faraway.

That was what he had feared and now Sawada bore the consequences of his own rejection.

“That was why I had Checkerface whisk him away. I knew he wouldn’t survive if they kept their hands on him.”

“What about his parents? Surely they would have put up a notice for him in order to get him back legally.”

This time Nezu scoffed, something so uncharacteristic of the usually poised principal that it was a little jarring. It was like that time Naomasa met with Kawahira all over again.

“His mother wouldn’t even realise his absence in the first place and his father was the reason why he had to go into hiding.” Nezu seemed to gather himself again after that atypical tirade of his and throw back his obviously cold tea as if it was a shot.

“Anyway, they would not be a problem anymore and now I can focus on undoing what they had done to the poor boy.” It was a maliciously gleeful expression that adorned the mammal’s face when he spoke of the parents but the fierce protectiveness Nezu showed over Sawada helped to temper Toshinori’s unease at the sight of it.

“So is Akaguro-kun is a part of his protection detail alongside Kawahira?” Toshinori couldn’t help asking because if Nezu was willing to answer his questions, then Toshinori would take the chance to clear up some of it.

Nezu looked amused at the question and withhold from answering it by taking his time in pouring himself another cup of tea. Toshinori had the general feeling he was being made fun of and Naomasa looked like he managed to catch what was amusing the principal if the way his best friend’s lip kept on twitching was anything to go by.

“In a sense, he is but he was an unexpected addition and done by Checkerface’s unwanted meddling. They’re still trying to find their common ground so I expect you to not put much strain on them. No need to make things hard for Tsuna-kun, right?” Nezu’s eyes was sharp over the rim of the cup.

“Right…” Toshinori conceded easily because he knew when to pick his fight. Most of the time that is.

They lapped back to silence as both party tries to digest what had been shared. Toshinori felt his emotions settling back again now that he has explanations to some of his questions. He was aware there were more to it but now he at least has the general ideas of what kind of situation young Sawada faced. It eased the jaded side of him that expected Sawada’s presence in his life to be some nefarious plot to get under his skin.

A poke at his side had him turning his eyes toward Naomasa and Toshinori reflexively smiled back to mirror the one on his best friend’s face.

Yeah, for once in his life something was simple.

That was not to say Sawada’s situation was a simple one but at least it was a familiar territory that involved a victim in distress. That was something Toshinori can go along with.

Nezu sets down his teacup with a clink and jumped down from the armchair he previously occupied. “Now that my work here is done. I have some other responsibilities to get back to. It was nice meeting you again, Detective, Yagi-kun.” Without further ado, the principal made a beeline toward the door.

“Wait!” Toshinori called out to him because he still has so many questions to ask and he doubted that Sawada would be any more forthcoming with the answer than he was before. Not with the boy’s skittish nature and general aversion to asking for help.

“If you have more questions, I suggest you ask Tsuna-kun himself. The boy could use more reliable people in his life after all and while you are at it, help to assuage some of his self-imposed guilt over this necessary lie. He already have enough on his plate. No need for him to beat up himself over something that was not his fault to begin with.”

And with that, the door closed behind the principal, leaving only him and Naomasa in the room.

“Well that went well.” Naomasa said jokingly, tucking away the notepad that now contained lots more scrawl than it did before.

Toshinori groaned, sinking back into the sofa as much as his height allowed him, legs stretched out under the coffee table that bumped his knees. “Tell me about it.”

Naomasa laughed, a pleasant sound to Toshinori’s ears and he took the liberty to lean against his best friend’s arm but Naomasa proved to be a sly one when he manipulated the trajectory of Toshinori’s own head to have it lie on his laps instead. Toshinori didn’t protest about the manhandling and instead shifted his body to get comfortable in the new position, even if his long legs did end up dangling over the arm of the sofa they shared.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the warm hand in his hair and the soothing scent that was purely Naomasa. After the day that he had, Toshinori felt justified for this physical assurance and if Naomasa was willing to give it freely, who was Toshinori to say no to it. He never knew he was a cuddler before meeting the detective and now having the privilege of getting this level of skinship from a person, Toshinori was aware just how touch starved he had become over the years of upholding the Symbol of Justice.

Having Naomasa in his life taught him many new things about himself that he never knew before and now from the look of thing, the same pattern seemed to be put into motion with Sawada too. Toshinori can’t say he minded it after all because he already liked what he saw of the boy and would be more than honoured if Sawada would be willing to trust Toshinori with more of himself.

“It looked like I should get to know him too after all, Toshi.”

“You would love him. He’s such a sweet boy that it is hard not to.”

Naomasa chuckled, smoothing his thumb over the sharp edge of Toshinori’s cheekbone. “That I don’t doubt but I should be around just to make sure you don’t end up adopting that boy. He doesn’t need to put up with a big goof like you.”

Toshinori squawked at the teasing but saw it as an opportunity to poke his own fun at his best friend instead. “And let you adopt him instead? Not a chance Nao. I met him first, so he is mine.” It was childish of him to stick out his tongue but Toshinori did it anyway and it sent his best friend into a fit of laughter that he soon joined himself.

“There’s always joined custody. Two is better than one after all.” It was said in such a light hearted way that Toshinori would have just brushed as nothing most day but after the emotional day he had, he couldn’t help but notice it this time.

A flush made itself known on Toshinori’s cheeks at the implication of Naomasa’s words and a small part of him knew it was something he had been skirting over since forever. He knew he should directly ask Naomasa about it because his best friend would undoubtedly answer it truthfully but Toshinori was a coward with his own feelings and he doesn’t want to lose what they have now.

“Then I call dib on papa.” But Toshinori’s stupid mouth doesn’t know when to stop it seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I didn't mean to make things complicated while Nezu plan to take some burden off Tsuna's back, he's still, well Nezu, and scheming is his lifeblood. After doing his job of clearing the air between Tsuna and Toshi, he wanted to have some fun at their expense and also to see All Might go full mother hen on Tsuna 
> 
> Since this was from Toshi's POV, then he draw his own assumptions on things that Nezu was skirting around and Nezu deduced it already, so he just played along with it for fun. He's pretty dead on with the assumptions but he sure didn't factor in dimension travel.
> 
> AND SOME TIDBITS ABOUT KAWAHIRA/CHECKERFACE IN THIS WORLD
> 
> The NaoToshi mess at the end was my push toward my nefarious future plan for them and no one can stop me from making a bigger goof out of our man Toshi.
> 
> Hope you all like this chapter~~~
> 
> I love you 3000 *stabbed with angst*


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyyyy so many love for this fic. Sorry for the late update. I was too busy studying for the exam but I finally found some time to finish this chapter!

There was something wrong with Yagi-san.

Tsuna couldn’t quite pinpoint on what was wrong but there was obviously something that was on the man’s mind to make him behave the way he did these past few days.

Having both All Might and Yagi-san drop by the diner was an almost daily occurrence that Tsuna didn’t even bat an eye over it anymore but to have All Might’s presence suddenly cut off seemed fishy to him. So he had taken to watching the blonde man whenever he was around and the detective who seemed to tag along with him sometimes.

Those two made an odd pair because Tsuna had never seen either Yagi-san or All Might with anyone else before, not with the level of closeness between the two of them that told stories of many years’ worth of friendship.

The detective, Tsukauchi – call me Naomasa – -san, was as polite as they come, soft spoken yet with an amusing sense of humour. It was a delight to talk with the man who had handled his hostage situation a few months ago and to get to know the man when the situation was not, well, dire.

Yagi-san –please call me Toshi, young Sawada– was very enthusiastic in introducing them to each other but Tsuna couldn’t help but feeling like he was out of the loop whenever Yagi-san kept on shooting furtive looks at him, as if he was trying to convey something through his eyes alone. But Tsuna was no mind reader like Kawahira and Reborn, he doesn’t know what the blonde man was trying to tell him.

Was there something that he should be in on?

Some shared secret that he should be aware of?

He doesn’t know what Yagi-san was trying to telepathically express to him and he sure as hell don’t think it was related to as to why he was sent into this world because as far as he had known, there was no direct confrontation between Yagi-san and Kawahira.

So that ruled out about it being Flame related or even Trinisette in general.

Besides, Tsuna was pretty sure that Kawahira would be in one of his scheming mood if he for some reason decided to reveal Yagi-san’s own role in the grand plan of his. But so far, the Mist was as mild as Kawahira can be, calmly enjoying his ramen without so much as looking up from it other than to ask for refill from Tsuna.

Tsuna quickly dismissed Akaguro-san from his mind because the man was many thing but a tattler was not one of it. Even stars truck from being in the presence of his idol, Akaguro-san would never reveal his secrets to All Might and indirectly Tsuna’s secrets too.  Moreover, the man doesn’t know of Yagi-san’s secret identity as All Might, so there was no need to suspect the man to be the one who revealed anything to Yagi-san.

It could be Nezu-san but Tsuna was sure the principal would have told him if there were any confrontation with the number one hero.

He would, right?

Before his mind could go down that particular train of thought, he was pulled away from his musing by a cheery voice calling out to him.

“Tsuna-nii!”

“Hitoshi-kun! Welcome!” Tsuna greeted him, happy to see the boy whom had quickly wormed his way into Tsuna’s heart.

Tsuna will never admit it but he really missed being an older brother, to have someone who looked up to him unconditionally with genuine awe. Besides, it was nice not being the smallest person anymore even if he knew it was only a matter of time before the boy would shoot up like bamboo. Just look at the boy’s father. Hitoshi would no doubt follow in Satoshi-san’s footstep on that.

Hitoshi grinned back at him, managing to bright up the dreary diner with that alone and Tsuna has to resist the urge to coo at him. If he didn’t know any better, he would have deduced Hitoshi as a Sun but seeing as who the boy’s parents was, Hitoshi could only be a Mist or Cloud or even a mix of both.

He watched as the boy clambered onto the stool, taking his claimed spot at the counter. While having no obvious sign to officially label that particular seat as his, the boy was around more than enough time for Tsuna to call it Hitoshi’s.

It was also right beside the favourite seat that most Pro Heroes liked to use for the shroud that Tsuna managed to get Kawahira to put on. For some reason, Hitoshi was able to see right through it and see the hero hidden under the Mist Flame.

And boy did the boy gush over them.

While Tsuna would normally stop his patrons from disturbing the heroes who dined in at his shop, he doesn’t have the heart to stop Hitoshi. He really doesn’t want to be at the receiving end of Hitoshi’s puppy eyes because he knew he would just fold in like wet tissue by the end of it and let him anyway. It helped that the heroes were more than willing to indulge him.

However, Tsuna was not sure how Hitoshi was able to see them in the first place but knowing who the boy’s other parent was, Tsuna just chalked it off as it being an inherited trait to see through illusion.

Kawahira had a terrifying glint in his eyes when he looked at Hitoshi and Tsuna was quick to dissuade him from scheming anything involving the boy. He really doesn’t want to be the reason why another kid’s life was ruined. It was bad enough he had dragged his Guardian into the supposed Mafia, no need for Hitoshi to be another pawn on Kawahira’s board.

“How was school today?” While he knew it was a landmine question most day, he really wanted to give Hitoshi the chance to talk his ear off about his day. It was obvious to Tsuna that Hitoshi doesn’t have many people that he can talk freely with and if he could help the boy open up a bit, he doesn’t mind hearing about mundane things such as how boring the lesson was.

Besides, it reminded him of the simpler days before Reborn, only with sprinkles of Quirk shenanigans.

And it also gave Tsuna the chance to bond more with the boy. He knew how much Hitoshi needed someone who was not his parents to vent to. He had been in the boy’s shoes before.

There were a lot of things he doesn’t want his mother to know about his school life. It was not because he didn’t trust her or anything. He just doesn’t want the last remnant of hope about her to be dashed. He knew his mom would just brush it off, airily saying how rambunctious his schoolmates were when he came back with scuff marks and bruises instead of doing anything about it. ~~She did that the first few time he came back with it.~~ Tsuna never told her anything about his school life.

Hitoshi’s face turned frustrated, it usually does whenever school was brought up because no matter what world, the ‘freak’ would always be targeted. “It was the same as usual.” He finally grumbled, clearly reluctant to talk about it.

Tsuna’s heart ached for him.

If only he could change it for the boy.

He would have done it in a heartbeat but there was nothing he could do to make this supposedly heroism entrenched society change their mind on the so called ‘villainous’ Quirks.

“But there was this guy…” Hitoshi trailed off, obviously recalling the event and Tsuna perked up at it. It was rare for Hitoshi to talk about his peers, he mostly just gloss over them and if the boy was going to talk about this person, Tsuna would be more than willing to hear him out. He was very much interested to get to know whoever managed to get Hitoshi’s attention.

“You made a new friend?” Casual Tsuna, don’t show too much interest, otherwise he would tip Hitoshi off.

“Friend…” Hitoshi seemed to roll the word on his tongue, as if testing how it felt for the first time and once again Tsuna felt angered at this society on his behalf. No child should be condemned for something they had no control over.

“Well, I won’t call him one yet since we just met after all but I would like to be friend with him if he wants to.” There was uncertainty in his voice, borne from too many rejections. He was burned too many time to not be wary. How bad was this society that he heard this coming from a kid? This was so messed up on so many level.

“He was fun to talk with and he knows a lot about heroes, Tsuna-nii! You should have seen his books! It was full of analysis and info about them! He even had one on Eraserhead!” Hitoshi was practically gushing at this point and Tsuna could only feel wry fondness right now. While he doesn’t hold any affection for this world’s so called heroes, he can appreciate that they can make kids like Hitoshi be hopeful. These kids needed the hero in their life as a beacon of hope, something to strive for and that much he can respect.

He doesn’t know who this Erasherhead was but if he got Hitoshi fawning over him like this, well Tsuna will make sure to treat him on the house if the man ever step into his diner.

“So he’s a fan boy like you too, huh?” Tsuna said teasingly, leaning against the counter as Hitoshi scowled at him, obviously displeased at being reduced to such level. Tsuna shot him a grin in return.

“Hero analyst! I am an avid hero analyst, not some random fan boy” The indignant look was adorable. It made Tsuna wanting to pinch the baby fat clinging to the boy’s cheeks.

“Sure you are. Want to say that to the merchs you got in your bag?”

That made Hitoshi flush and clutch his school bag closer, as if he was afraid that Tsuna would throw himself over the counter and spill the content of the bag. Tsuna teased him by jokingly reaching out for it, making Hitoshi hides it behind his back to keep Tsuna’s hands away from it. They were at it for some time, with Tsuna feigning left and right while Hitoshi tried his best to keep the bag out of reach, all the while calling Tsuna names.

Kid sure had a mouth on him and some colourful languages too.

“You bullying the kid again, brat?” Akaguro-san’s judging raised eyebrow had Tsuna sticking his tongue out at his Rain because he can. The man merely looked back with a blank look, clearly unimpressed by it.

Tsuna huffed. Spoilsport.

“Just some light teasing, right Hitoshi-kun?” Tsuna turned toward the boy in question but found that he had lost him already to Akaguro-san. He would have felt offended at being side-lined if it wasn’t so entertaining to watch.

If there was any unexpected development that he never foresee happening, it was the instant attachment Hitoshi developed for his Rain.

Tsuna doesn’t know how or why that happened since neither would answer his question but it was funny to watch the boy basically imprinted on the man, looking up at the man with open awe and admiration. What made it even more hilarious was the awkward way Akaguro-san had reacted to it. The man so obviously unused to being genuinely admired that he doesn’t know how to react toward this star struck boy.

Even now, he looked so unnerved by the starry eyed look that Hitoshi shot him with.

But it was free entertainment for Tsuna, so he was not going to look into it much. Let his Rain learn how to handle kids. Consider this as his impromptu rehabilitation therapy to be once again integrated into normal society. Or what could be passed off as normal in this world.

As he abandoned his Rain to the mercy of Hitoshi, Tsuna took the chance to chat up with some of his other regulars that were present. While he tried to even out his attention amongst his customers, it was hard for him to not focus most of his attention on Hitoshi when the boy was around.

Most of the other regulars seemed to be understanding of his plight, even teasing him about being a good dad which Tsuna readily admit freaked him out because he was still a fifteen years old boy under the illusion of twenty something man that Kawahira casted on him.

“Got your hands full with that one again today, huh?” Sekijirou-san asked as he speared his cherry tomato, popping it into his mouth that curled into a grin. Tsuna could only smile back helplessly because he cannot deny what actually happened when the man saw it all from his seat at the counter.

“Someone had too. I would rather keep him occupied than have him snooping around and bother some of you.” Taking the rag he had abandoned upon Hitoshi’s arrival, he began wiping down his station to keep his hands busy. He had already finished all the orders after all and was now internally planning what to make for Hitoshi.

“He’s a good kid. I won’t mind watching over him while I am here.” The grey haired man easily offered. Despite Sekijirou-san’s wide set and general bulky tallness that came off as intimidating at first glance, the man was a big softy and was good with kid. Hitoshi was not the only kid that was at awe with him.

“I may take you up for that sometime if Akaguro-san happened to not be around to entertain him.” Tsuna knew he shouldn’t be taking advantages of his customers but it would be good to introduce Hitoshi to more people he can interact with. Kids may be cruel now because most of them doesn’t have the maturity to know better but that doesn’t mean Hitoshi have to suffer from lack of social interaction.

“As long as you keep supplying me with the best tomato dish in town, I would watch him all day.” The man joked and Tsuna chuckled softly.

“That could easily be arranged.” Tsuna accepted the term readily because that was what he had been doing ever since arriving in this world. “How are you so good with kids? You sure you’re not secretly Mary Poppins?”

Sekijirou-san laughed, loud and booming. “I would need a sturdy umbrella to carry me around if I am but sadly I am just a teacher. I work with kids that are a little bit older than him but acted like they were his age. Shinsou was actually better behaved than most of them if I have to admit.”

“And you’re still sane? I heard teaching teens are worse than kiddies.” Tsuna doesn’t know how high school was like since he never attended one but if middle school was anything like high school, Tsuna can only imagine teaching one where everyone was jacked up with Quirks.

“If I can’t control my own blood, I would be warded for high blood pressure right now. If you think kids are bad, just imagine all the teenage drama and angst packed into one room. I swear that they would burn the school to the ground if I took my eyes off them for one second.”

The look of utter exasperation was so relatable that Tsuna could sympathise with him. It sounded almost the same like trying to coral his own Guardians. Take away all the violence from them, they were all so full of drama that Tsuna can’t even find the funny.

“You’re a brave man for doing what you’re doing.” Tsuna said solemnly and Sekijirou-san raised his glass of iced lemonade like a toast before downing it. “Just come over if you felt the urge to strangle one of them. I know where Kawahira kept all his secret stashes. Can’t have one of my favourite customer be arrested after all.”

It sent the man guffawing and it was good that Tsuna decided to say that after the man finished drinking. He really doesn’t want to accidentally choke someone to death from the untimely remark.

“Man, Sawada. I don’t know you had it in you.” Sekijirou-san finally calmed down enough to finish the rest of his meal but he was clearly amused by what Tsuna had said. “But going out for a drink sounds like a good idea. You free this weekend?”

Abort.

Mission abort.

While Tsuna could confidently hold his liquor thanks to Reborn’s teaching, (“A don should know how to hold his drink Dame-Tsuna.”) he doesn’t think Nezu-san would be all too happy about it once he got wind of it. Besides, he has the feeling that Sekijirou-san was in fact a teacher at U.A and he really doesn’t want to be the reason why the man got skinned alive by Nezu-san.

“Well–“ Tsuna began, not really knowing how to turn him down because Fuuta’s ranking did say he was the worst at saying no to anyone.

“I am afraid Tsuna would be occupied for the weekend.” The clear voice cut in and Tsuna internally thanked his Rain for coming to his rescue but when he turned around to shoot the man a grateful look, Akaguro-san had a dangerous glint in his eyes, one that say some blood was about to be spilled and Tsuna need to keep all his knives in check.

 

Sekijirou-san was no better as his equally red eyes clashed with Akaguro-san’s own. It didn’t help that the man had gotten to his feet too in order to match his Rain in some unspoken challenge.

Tsuna subtly stepped in front of Akaguro-san, standing between the two men that easily towered over him despite there being a counter to separate the two. His Intuition was telling him that it would do nothing to deter the two if they decided to throw it down right then and there.

“I am sorry, Sekijirou-san but as Akaguro-san here said, I have plans for the weekend. Perhaps some other time?” He tried to appease whatever tension that was building up between the two. Tsuna felt like he was missing something here.

Why in the world were the two men being at each other’s throat?

What caused it in the first place?

They were pretty genial before, what had changed in the spans of the few second?

Was Akaguro-san being protective over the offer for underage drinking?

He shouldn’t be!

His Rain knew Tsuna’s cover was of a man in his twenties. It was technically legal for Tsuna to drink. Unless they want to explain the reason for the illusion to the man and everything while they were at it, Akaguro-san should have known better than to tip people off about it.

Besides, Tsuna can hold his drinks. So there would be no harm done.

Sekijirou-san shifted his eyes to meet Tsuna’s and some of the tension bleed out from Tsuna’s shoulder when the man’s features softened ever so slightly. It felt relieving to see the familiar kind eyes instead of the hardened ruby it had become when it was directed toward Akaguro-san.

“I’ll hold you to that, Sawada. Now how much do I owe you?” The man pulled out his wallet to pay for his meal and Tsuna moved toward the cash register to ring him up. Akaguro-san was not making it easy by hovering close to Tsuna’s back and the tension only spiked further when Sekijirou-san handed him the money.

Their fingers only brushed! Was that suddenly too much for his Rain too?!

“See you later.”

“Please come again!” Tsuna smiled back at him despite the literal wave of killing intent that came from behind him.

Once he was sure that Sekijirou-san was gone, Tsuna turned around to face his Rain who still glaring at the man who was not even there anymore.

“Okay, what was that? I thought you were okay with him before? What did he do to tick you off?” Tsuna caught himself from talking about the illusion he wore because Hitoshi was still there, watching over them with rapt interest.

“Nothing.” Was Akaguro-san gruff reply as he took the rag and aggressively clean up the deserted seat that was previously occupied by Sekijirou-san, as if he was trying to vaporise the man’s lingering presence.

“That doesn’t look like nothing to me. You looked about ready to use my cleaver on him.” Tsuna crossed his arms over his chest, trying to appear firm as Akaguro-san grumbled something under his breath. “I can’t hear you.” Tsuna snapped, patience finally thinning enough at this whole nonsense.

Akaguro-san only grumbled more unintelligible thing under his breath.

“You’re so dense, Tsuna-nii.” Hitoshi unhelpfully piped up and the boy merely shrugged his shoulder when Tsuna directed his burning glare at him. What with that sudden commentary?

“The boy is right. You’re so dense Tsuna-kun.” Came Kawahira’s unwanted addition and seeing as no one was going to clarify things for him, Tsuna threw his hands up in frustration.

“Whatever! I am too tired to deal with this!” He stormed away for the backroom and the whispering voices between Kawahira and Hitoshi followed him.

What in the world just happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sekijirou-san is in fact Sekijirou Kan aka Vlad King.
> 
> I admit, I didn't plan this development. I mean, I never thought of it until I actually sat down to type a new chapter and needed a side character to write about. My funny bone thought it would be hilarious to be a confrontation between two blood based quirk people.
> 
> So you may read between the line and saw that Kan was indeed flirting with Tsuna but to be fair on his part, he thought Tsuna was around his age due to the illusion.
> 
> BUT
> 
> Don't worry, there will be no pedophilia once I clear things out. This was to establish how Tsuna's interaction with his other customers goes and how the illusion was perceived by others who was not in the know.
> 
> And I need to stop piling problem on Tsuna.
> 
> Poor Tsuna not suspecting Nezu of anything.
> 
> And guess who's Hitoshi's new friend!


End file.
